The fire which ignited Thursday afternoon is spreading in the West Hills area.
At least 10 people are believed to be dead -- with the LA County sheriff saying he expects that number to rise -- as a series of devastating fires grow uncontained across Southern California amid dry and windy conditions, leaving officials scrambling to contain the historic destruction.
Thousands of firefighters are battling at least five sprawling wildfires spread around the Los Angeles area. The largest, the Palisades Fire, in Pacific Palisades, has scorched over 19,000 acres, destroyed thousands of structures and remains zero percent contained. The Eaton Fire, in Altadena, now stands at more than 13,000 acres and zero percent contained. More than 180,000 people have been ordered to evacuate as the infernos spread.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday approved a federal major disaster declaration for Los Angeles County.
President Joe Biden will give remarks on the response to the California fires following President Jimmy Carter's memorial service.
Biden approved a major disaster declaration and ordered federal assistance to supplement response efforts in areas affected by wildfires.
At least 420,000 customers are without power in California, as of 6:40 a.m. PT.
Los Angeles was the most impacted county with 210,981 customers without power, followed by San Bernardino where at least 87,282 are without power.
Los Angeles and San Diego are now in a severe drought, according to the National Drought Monitor. Dry weather is expected to continue for Southern California through next week.
The rain deficit in Los Angeles since Oct. 1 is over 4.5 inches and nearly 3.5 inches in San Diego.
The second driest period on record was May 5 to Dec. 31, 2024.
-ABC News' Max Golembo
Another round of Santa Ana winds is forecast to sweep into Los Angeles on Thursday night into Friday morning, putting most of the region under a critical fire risk, as emergency responders battle to contain five quickly spreading wildfires.
The wind in the region relaxed overnight as the low pressure, which was helping enhance the wind, is moving away into Texas.
But high pressure is building from the north and that will help to tighten the pressure gradient over Southern California, producing more gusty winds.
Red flag and high wind warnings have been issued through Friday afternoon for wind gusts 40 to 60 mph, with 70 mph possible in the mountains.
Relative humidity could drop to as low as 5% for Southern California.
Because of the dry and windy conditions anticipated, a critical fire risk has been issued for much of the area for the next 24 hours.
-ABC News' Max Golembo
