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"I have never seen flames from my house like this ever. This is insanity."
That was American actor Josh Gad watching the Pacific Palisades fire burn from his home.
It's the largest of several fires burning across Los Angeles, three of which are zero per cent contained
Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley says the fires have caused catastrophic damage with entire neighbourhoods burned to the ground.
"Damage assessments are ongoing at the Palisades Fire. However, preliminary reports estimate the damaged or destroyed structures to be in the thousands. It is safe to say that the Palisades fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles."
So far, the fires have burnt through more than 11,000 hectares and nearly 200,000 people are under evacuation warnings.
The exact number of fatalities is not known at this time.
Officials have previously reported that at least five people have died but L-A county sheriff Robert Luna says he's not satisfied with some of the information that they're getting.
"At one point we'll be able to do a more thorough search of these impacted areas. Some of them look like a bomb was dropped in them where we will be able to bring in canines and other things to help us hopefully not discover too many fatalities. That's our prayer. But this is a crisis, and we don't know what to expect. But we're ready for everything."
The second largest blaze has been dubbed the Eaton fire, which broke out in Altadena in the hills above Pasadena on Tuesday.
Within the first six hours, it grew to over 400 hectares, reaching more than 4,200 hectares by late Wednesday.
That same evening, a new fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills near Runyon Canyon.
The blaze, named the Sunset fire, has prompted the evacuation of some of the most famous parts of L-A, including the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Paris Hilton is among a growing list of celebrities who have lost their homes.
"OK, I've found everyone, packing up the car, getting ready to go to the hotel. It's so big. It's so red. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone tonight. I'm really praying it'll stop soon."
Tens of thousands of people remain without power in the L-A area, and authorities say at least 20 arrests have been made for looting or similar crimes.
U-S President Joe Biden has announced that the federal government will pay 100 per cent of the firefighting needs for the next 180 days.
L-A is looking for any help it can get, with 800 incarcerated firefighters now deployed from prisons to help fight the devastating blazes.
Vice President Kamala Harris has praised the efforts of all first responders.
"What we have seen in California and in particular in Southern California, is apocalyptic in terms of the nature of it and the unprecedented nature of it as well. And what we are seeing is a situation that is extremely dynamic. It is very much in play. And to some degree unpredictable because we are literally waiting to see which way the wind blows."
It's still not known exactly what started the fires.
But experts say severe winds and dry vegetation have fuelled them.
The weather conditions, combined with issues with water supplies, have made containing the fires extremely difficult.
Stefan Doerr is a Professor of Wildland Fire Science at Swansea University.
He says conditions will likely get even worse, the longer the fires burn.
"So once the fire reaches a certain size, it sucks a lot of airflow from the perimeter of the fire into the fire itself, pushes it up into the atmosphere. And then it basically brings strong dry winds on the periphery of the fire so that fans the flame even more. The fires need to have a particular size to do this. And I said, I can't confirm this is the case in this particular fire. But generally when fires do occur and this has happened in California, that is another factor that makes them more challenging to fight."
