Los Angeles fire deaths at 10 as National Guard called in

Massive wildfires that engulfed whole neighborhoods and displaced thousands in Los Angeles have killed at least 10 people, authorities said, as California's National Guard soldiers readied to hit the streets to help quell disorder.

Swaths of the United States' second-largest city lay in ruins Friday, with more than 10,000 structures destroyed according to the state's fire service.

"I lost everything. My house burned down and I lost everything," said Hester Callul, who had reached a shelter after fleeing her Altadena home.

Firefighters were battling multiple blazes backed by water-dropping helicopters, thanks to a temporary lull in winds, as the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner announced the death toll had reached 10.

With reports of looting, Los Angeles County ordered a nighttime curfew, and the state's National Guard was on hand to patrol affected areas.

Governor Gavin Newsom said the service members were part of a thousands-strong deployment of state personnel.

"We're throwing everything at our disposal – including our National Guard service members – to protect communities in the days to come," he said.

"And to those who would seek to take advantage of evacuated communities, let me be clear: looting will not be tolerated."

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said his officers were patrolling evacuation zones and would arrest anyone who was not supposed to be there.

The flames have so far burned more than 35,000 acres (14,160 hectares) in Los Angeles, the state's fire agency reported.

With such a huge area scorched, evacuees feared not enough was being done and some were taking matters into their own hands.

Nicholas Norman mounted an armed vigil at his home after seeing suspicious characters in the middle of the night.

"I did the classic American thing: I went and got my shotgun and I sat out there and put a light on so they knew people were there," he told AFP.

Death and destruction

The biggest of the multiple blazes has ripped through almost 20,000 acres of the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood, while another fire around Altadena has torched about 13,700 acres.

Firefighters said they were starting to get a handle on the Pacific Palisades blaze, with six percent of its perimeter contained – meaning it can't spread any further in that direction.

But after a lull, winds were returning and new fires continued to erupt.

One flared near Calabasas and the wealthy Hidden Hills enclave, home to celebrities like Kim Kardashian.

The Kenneth Fire exploded to almost 1,000 acres within hours, forcing more people from their homes, with over 180,000 displaced.

US President Joe Biden told a White House briefing he had pledged extra federal funds and resources to help the state cope with "the most... devastating fire in California's history."

Unlike on Tuesday when the multi-pronged disaster roared to life and 100-mile (160-kilometer)-an-hour winds grounded all aircraft, firefighters were able to keep up a steady stream of sorties.

Some of those forced out of their homes began to return Thursday to find scenes of devastation.

Kalen Astoor, a 36-year-old paralegal, said her mother's home had been spared by the inferno's seemingly random and chaotic destruction. But many other homes had not.

"The view now is of death and destruction," she told AFP. "I don't know if anyone can come back for a while."

Critical

Meanwhile an AFP overflight of the Pacific Palisades and Malibu – some of the most expensive real estate in the world and home to celebrities like Paris Hilton and Anthony Hopkins – revealed desolation.

"This is crazy... All these homes, gone," said helicopter pilot Albert Azouz.

On highly coveted Malibu oceanfront plots, skeletal frames of buildings indicated the lavish scale of what has been destroyed.

Multimillion-dollar mansions have vanished entirely, seemingly swept into the Pacific Ocean by the force of the fire.

In the Palisades, grids of roads that were until Tuesday lined with stunning homes now resemble makeshift cemeteries.

The fires could be the costliest ever recorded, with AccuWeather estimating total damage and loss between US$135 billion and $150 billion.

For millions of people in the area, life was disrupted: schools were closed, hundreds of thousands were without power, and major events were canceled or, in the case of an NFL playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Minnesota Vikings, moved somewhere else.

Meteorologists have warned that "critical" windy and dry conditions, though abated, were not over.

A National Weather Service bulletin said "significant fire growth" remained likely "with ongoing or new fires" into Friday.

Wildfires occur naturally, but scientists say human-caused climate change is altering weather and changing the dynamics of the blazes.

Two wet years in Southern California have given way to a very dry one, leaving ample fuel dry and primed to burn.