The raging wildfires that have blazed around Los Angeles for two days, killing at least five people, destroying almost 2,000 homes and buildings, and forcing the evacuation of more than 130,000 people, have spread to the hills above Hollywood Boulevard.
As firefighters battled five separate blazes, the White House announced that Joe Biden had cancelled Thursday’s visit to Italy – the final overseas trip of his presidency – to focus on directing the federal response to the fires.
The emergency began on Tuesday afternoon, when a powerful windstorm fanned the flames of a fire in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, prompting thousands to flee.
The blazes intensified overnight as firefighters struggled to contain the flames in the extreme winds, during what one official described as among the “most devastating and terrifying nights” in city history.
Although the winds had begun to ease by Wednesday evening, and firefighters from across the state were relieving exhausted crews, the danger was far from over. As officials provided an update on the fires, a new blaze broke out in the Hollywood Hills, and evacuation orders were also extended to Santa Monica.
Human-caused climate breakdown is supercharging extreme weather across the world, driving more frequent and more deadly disasters from heatwaves to floods to wildfires.
The region has been experiencing warmer than average temperatures in January, in part due to recent blasts of dry air, including the notorious Santa Ana winds. Southern California has not recorded more than 0.1in (2.5mm) of rain since early May.
The LA Fire Department issued the evacuation order for people in an area within Hollywood Boulevard to the south, Mulholland Drive to the north, the 101 Freeway to the east and Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west – all notable entertainment industry addresses.
Within that area is the Dolby theatre, where the Oscars are held. Next week’s Oscar nominations announcement has been postponed by two days because of the fire, organisers said. Though relatively small, the Sunset fire burned just above Hollywood Boulevard and its Walk of Fame. A nearby structural fire destroyed at least two homes and spread to brush in Studio City before being extinguished by more than 50 firefighters.
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“This firestorm is the big one,” the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, told a press conference after cutting short an official trip to Ghana to return to the city.
The new fire in the Hollywood Hills has brought the total number of wildfires burning in Los Angeles County to at least five.
By the early hours of Thursday, the Palisades fire on the west side of Los Angeles had consumed more than 6,960 hectares (17,200 acres) and hundreds of structures in the hills between Santa Monica and Malibu.
Aerial video by KTLA television showed block after block of smouldering homes in Pacific Palisades, the smoky grid occasionally punctuated by the orange blaze of another home still on fire.
To the east, in the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains, the Eaton fire claimed another 4,290 hectares (10,600 acres), another 1,000 structures, and killed at least five people, officials said.
Three people have been arrested for looting, according to law enforcement officials. The private forecaster AccuWeather estimated initial damage and economic loss at more than $50bn (£41bn).
“We’re facing a historic natural disaster. And I think that can’t be stated strong enough,” Kevin McGowan, the director of emergency management for Los Angeles County, told a press conference.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report