live from singapore, this is bbc news. disaster in los angeles. four wildfires are burning out of control. firefighters say they are short of water as the fires remain completely uncontained. at least 70,000 people have been ordered to flee their homes. at least five people have died, and more than a thousand buildings have been destroyed. authorities are warning all la residents that they are in danger. officials expect the fires to worsen due to ferocious winds, as president biden pledges extra firefighters and resources.

we start newsday in the us where the death toll from california's wildfires has risen to five. four fires are continuing to burn out of control in the suburbs of los angeles and more fires are still popping up. officials say despite best efforts, the fires are 0% contained. these are live pictures from los angeles. at least 70,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes and tens of thousands more have been told to pack and be ready to go. you can see the scale and all the smoke through this aerial view. the areas affected include a fire around the palisades — between santa monica and malibu which started last night, driven by fierce winds. it spread with incredible speed through tinder—dry conditions. within a matter of hours, the area on fire had doubled in size. the city's police chief says the fire conditions

are unprecedented and unpredicatable — and that there is no possibility of bringing them under control. more than a thousand firefighters have been deployed, including some from other states. 1,000 buildings have been destroyed in one area alone — the pacific palisades neighbourhood. us presidentjoe biden has promised additional personnel and assets from the us department of defense. speaking in the last hour, we heard from mayor of los angeles karen bass. hurricane force winds are usually accompanied by rainstorms but these are hurricane force winds that are combined with extremely dry, drought conditions. to provide context, at 10:20am yesterday, the palisades fire was at ten acres. 12 minutes later, it was at 200 acres. to those who fled their homes, especially those who have lost your homes, our hearts are breaking for you and

we stand with you. i know the world is looking at images of our cities devastation, i have seen the frontlines of the palisades fire and it is staggering. we also heard from kathryn barger, chair of la county's board of supervisors. we are prone to wildfires. but nothing like what i witnessed today. the kenyan fire is ripping through a community like i have never seen. it's like i have never seen. it's like a third world country out there. i would ask that anyone listening, if you do not need to be in the area and you've been evacuated, please hear the evacuation warning and if you don't live in the area, please stay away. well for more on the rapid spread of the fire and its damage, here's our correspondent emma vardy. as dawn broke, la awoke

to an apocalyptic site. smoke blocking out the skies over santa monica beach after a terrifying 2a hours. the fire grew at an extraordinary speed, flames raging out of control as hurricane force winds battered the coast. and the fire continues to grow with 0% containment. we have over 500 personnel assigned and unfortunately, we have two reported fatalities to civilians. la county and all 29 fire departments in our county are not prepared for this type of widespread disaster. there are not enough firefighters in la county. along this coastal road, we have been seeing the fires destruction. there is power lines down, patches still smouldering and the air is so thick with smoke that we can barely see more than a few metres in front of us. this was the moment two residents found their house engulfed by flames. it's going to be ok, all right?

we are going to be ok. thousands made homeless, a state of emergency called in a situation out of control. some abandoning their cars to the mercy of the flames. 0thers made attempts to stay and save their homes. fire crews struggled against a terrifying inferno causing utter destruction. flights continued to land into la's main airport. passengers witnessed the frightening scenes below. oh, my god. emergency services have been stretched to their limit, battling the unpredictable fires on multiple fronts. at least 1,000 buildings have been destroyed as the situation took many people by surprise. my sister called and she was like, "are you 0k?" and at that moment, a helicopter flew over my house and just dropped water and i was like, "it's raining." she was like, "no, it's not raining, your neighbourhood

"is on fire, you need to get out." in one of the worst—hit areas, a reporter described the carnage. we're here at the heart of the pacific in a neighbourhood that is completely lost. another home loss. when we go over this way, home's out in the street gone. as the second fire broke out, elderly residents of a care home huddled in a car park. a lot of these people are terrified and they don't have a blanket, they have nothing. in some of la's most exclusive neighbourhoods, hollywood stars left their homes to the flames. none of the fires have yet been brought under control. some returned to their neighbourhoods now turned to ash. i'm ok, i'll be ok. i am tough and we will start over, even though i am 91 years

old, i will start over again. this afternoon, president biden visited teams on the ground to get an update. we will do anything and everything as long as it takes to contain these fires and help reconstruct, make sure we get back to normal. it will be a hell of a long way. many still unsure where to go in this fast changing situation. look at this. beyond comprehension. a dark day for los angeles. the californian dream becoming a nightmare. emma vardy, bbc news, los angeles. i'm joined live now by david willis from near the blaze in pacific palisades. david, tell us what you've been seeing today, we can still see fires blazing behind you. 0fficials officials have been hoping that they could get some sort of handle on these massive fires. tonight given that the weather forecast was better than it was

forecast was better than it was for last night. butjust after six o'clock in here, it's totally dark and the winds are already whipping up. what they are doing is carrying embers from this massive pacific palisades fire and carrying them to try brush which unites other fires. them to try brush which unites otherfires. you can seejust behind me, to give you some idea of how volatile the situation is here, just that 50 or 20 minutes ago, before we came on air, there was a fire here whatsoever but suddenly, it sprung up and now, they are having to be deployed to put this one out as well. one of a number of fires throughout this region and fire officials have conceded that they are overwhelmed by the task in hand. additional resources are on their way from neighbouring states, that's machinery and area but in the meantime,

appear to be putting their faith in air drops of flame retardant and waterfrom faith in air drops of flame retardant and water from the area but looking up, they are really very little they can do, earlier on, those winds were blowing towards the pacific ocean and now, they have turned and they are blowing inland and towards the city of los angeles. it towards the city of los angeles-_ towards the city of los angeles. towards the city of los anaeles. ., , , ~ ., angeles. it does seem like a very unpredictable _ angeles. it does seem like a very unpredictable and - angeles. it does seem like a i very unpredictable and chaotic situation. how are authorities keeping residence or yourself included on where it is where you can be safe?— you can be safe? officials at news conferences _ you can be safe? officials at news conferences a - you can be safe? officials at news conferences a short i you can be safe? officials at i news conferences a short time ago, perhaps in an acknowledgement that firefighters are losing the battle to combat these fires

said that basically, they would be brought under control, it was just be brought under control, it wasjust a be brought under control, it was just a matter of time and they said that additional resources, as i mentioned, were under way, resources, as i mentioned, were underway, basically resources, as i mentioned, were under way, basically trying to appease some of the anxiety, there were considerable anxiety throughout the city of los angeles, as you can imagine, with all these fires bursting out all over but i have to say, a lot of people on edge here, my phone has blown up over the course of the last few hours as one after another, just heard of a fire quite close to my home in the hollywood... inaudible of a further blazes. stay safe, thank you very much for reporting and for being able to speak to us. stay safe out there, david willis near the blaze in the palisades. this area of california has

been hit by devastating wildfires before, but these blazes are stronger and have come at an unusual time of year. so how much of a role does climate change play in such extreme events? here's our climate editorjustin rowlatt. still images show the fury and the horror of the fires engulfing parts of california. wildfires are a year—round threat in the state, but this year, it experienced its hottest summer on record. we know climate change is making the kind of hot, dry weather california has experienced in recent months more likely, and scientists say that is increasing the number of what are known as fire weather days. now, this graph shows the increase in the area burned by fires in the us since 1983. as you can see, it appears to have been growing steadily over the years, and there is another factor this year — the winter rains that normally reduce the fire risk in california didn't come. in fact, downtown los angeles has

only received 0.16 inches of rain since october. that is more than four inches below average. the california governor, gavin newsom, believes the pattern of wildfires is changing. we were here not too long ago, the franklin fire, a few weeks prior to that, the mountain fire. in november, december, nowjanuary. there is no fire season — it's fire year, it's year—round. and look how the wind has been blowing the fires. these santa ana, or "devil winds" as they are sometimes called, are a normal part of california weather caused by cool, dry air blowing from the interior of the state to the coast. climate change doesn't appear to have altered the pattern of the santa ana winds, but as our world warms, the dangerous combination of strong winds with very dry vegetation is becoming more likely. and just look at the scenes on the other side of the country — the east coast and parts of central

us are experiencing icy, cold weather and snow storms that have killed five people and left 60 million under extreme weather warnings. the contrast could hardly be more stark. justin rowlatt, bbc news. i'm joined now by chris field, director for the woods institute for the environment, at stanford university in california. thanks very much forjoining us. we've seen the huge differences of the us is experiencing, smart on one side and wildfires on the other, with the wildfires in california, the governor has said that there is no fire season, it'sjust said that there is no fire season, it's just year—round, do you agree? season, it'sjust year-round, do you agree?— season, it'sjust year-round, do you agree? thank you. yes, we have seen _ do you agree? thank you. yes, we have seen dramatic- do you agree? thank you. yes, | we have seen dramatic increase in extreme fire whether an extreme fire in california over the last decade. this year, we have seen very late start, not a start and the rainy season in southern california and it's open the window for devastating

fires after the start of the year. i think it's really a situation where the probability of a fire is always high when the vegetation is right and these winds have just tiptoed into an unavoidable situation. authorities transfer mindset to account for these changes, the way they do things and resources that they allocate? we've seen reports today that these fires are burning with out—of—control and the resources are just not there? well, california has a tremendously competent group of fire professionals and emergency professionals who are doing their utmost to save lives and property but deployment of resources required for this major fire events and something beyond a scale of what planners have. 0ne scale of what planners have. one example is the fire hydrants in the palisades were

running dry, not because the water tanks were not full but because the demand on water has been so heavy that they basically used everything they had. and there's gotta be an ongoing discussion about how we're going to prepare, will be billed more water tanks and have additional sources of water supplies, will we do additional things to protect homes and people? residence will have to — homes and people? residence will have to do _ homes and people? residence will have to do rethinking - will have to do rethinking about how they live and how they sort of prepare for events like this? ., ., , ., like this? there are lots of thins like this? there are lots of things that _ like this? there are lots of things that residents - like this? there are lots of things that residents can l like this? there are lots of. things that residents can do, they can make sure that the space around their home is defensible so that fire crews can work on it, they can update their homes with less combustible materials and many residents are deciding to deploy automatic fire that there are lots of steps but they cost money and take to deploy. they cost money and take to de - lo . ~ , they cost money and take to delo . ~ , ., deploy. will it be that stockist _ deploy. will it be that stockist of _ deploy. will it be that stockist of some - deploy. will it be that stockist of some of i deploy. will it be that l stockist of some of the deploy. will it be that - stockist of some of the longer term impacts of these extreme

weather events at the us is seeing and what will have on the population centres as they become increasingly more common?— become increasingly more common? ~ ., common? well, we will need to make investments _ common? well, we will need to make investments in _ common? well, we will need to make investments in the - common? well, we will need to make investments in the safety| make investments in the safety of the population that lives in fire prone areas. and that's going to include everything from making structures less flammable to enabling better access to well—trained fire crews and increasing the size of fire crews and also thinking regionally, we know that in many cases, the most costly impact of the fires are actually the smoke exposure so we need to make sure that residents, even residence hundreds of miles from the fire have access to locations where the l filtration can remove the smoke. we need a comprehensive strategy recognising that at least four decades into the future we will have to live with this kind of fire.-

with this kind of fire. you very much _ with this kind of fire. you very much for— with this kind of fire. you very much for your - with this kind of fire. you very much for your time. | with this kind of fire. you very much for your time. thank you very much for your time. thank you. the area of los angeles hit by the fires is a particularly wealthy neighbourhood, and celebrities have been reacting. mandy moore, star of television series �*this is us�*, was one of the thousands forced to flea her home. she shared her gratitude on instagram for getting her family and pets out to safety and to friends for taking them in. guardians of galaxy star chris pratt appealed for people to send prayers and strength to everyone affected by these devastating fires in a post on instagram. khloe kardashian shared her reaction and devastation to the fire on her instagram story — she thanked the fire services for their incredible work. and zoe saldana, who picked up a golden globe on the weekend for her role in the netflix musical �*emilia perez', posted on her instagram story — "thoughts and sympathies with all those affected by the fire". around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

let's look at some other stories making news in the uk. a body found in italy's dolomites mountains — is believed to be of 35—year—old british man samuel harris. he and aziz ziriat, who's 36, were last heard from on new year's day after sending messages home from the the region. following ongoing search operations wednesday — the rescue team said a body was found "unfortunately lifeless, buried under the snow". rising flu cases are putting hospitals across the uk under severe pressure. around 20 hospitals trusts in england have declared critical incidents. the head of urgent and emergency care for nhs england, professorjulian redhead, has warned that the peak of flu season is still to come. economists are warning that the chancellor rachel reeves could be forced to cut spending or hike taxes even further, as the government tries to meet its self—imposed borrowing target.

the warning comes as government borrowing reached its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. you're live with bbc news. meanwhile, germany and france have warned donald trump against threatening greenland, following the us president—elect�*s refusal to rule out using military force to seize the autonomous territory. on tuesday, mr trump reiterated his desire to acquire greenland, saying that the arctic island was "critical" for national and economic security. denmark — a longtime us ally — has made it clear that greenland is not for sale. without specifically naming mr trump, german chancellor 0laf scholz said eu leaders were baffled at his statements. the french foreign minister said the eu would never allow that kind of aggression. translation: greenland is a territory of the european union. european territory. and so of course, is out of the question for the eu

to let any nation in the world, whichever it is, and let i say starting with russia, attack its sovereign orders. we are a strong continent. we have to keep on strengthening ourselves and we should wake up. so why does trump want to acquire greenland? the vast arctic territory is strategically sited here — between the us and russia — and has a wealth of oil, gas and other natural resources. here's our analysis editor, ros atkins. donald trump is seeking territorial expansion. greenland is the world's largest island. it's been part of the kingdom of denmark since 1953, having been colonised by denmark centuries earlier and with its position between the us and europe. it has huge value in terms of trade, security and natural resources too. as climate change warms the arctic, it may become more valuable still. and while the us already has a military base there, donald trump wants more than that. this week, he posted that greenland will benefit tremendously if and when it becomes part of our nation. and he was asked if he'd rule out using military or economic coercion to gain control of greenland and the panama canal.

no, i can't assure you on either of those two. greenland makes its own laws. it has its own prime minister. and he says greenland is not for sale. in fact, he wants full independence from denmark. and this week in denmark, he said, greenland belongs to the greenlanders. the danish prime minister has used that exact same phrase emphasises greenland is not for sale. but this issue is unlikely to go away. yesterday, donald trump's son donjr, was in greenland on what he called a personal trip. a little bit of fun. but there are other ways of describing it because as donjr well knows, his father, soon to be president, talks of ownership of greenland being an absolute necessity. donald trump's commitment to putting america first appears in this case to mean territorial expansion,

involving possible coercion of an autonomous territory and a european ally. he's not even making a secret of it. israel's military says it has recovered the body of one of its hostages from an underground tunnel in southern gaza. youssef al—ziyadne was kidnapped by hamas along with three of his children from their kibbutz near israel's border with gaza on the 7th of october. while two of his teenagers a son and daughter have since been released in an earlier prisoner exchange, israeli troops said they found evidence that raised concerns about whether his other son, hamza, is still alive. 0ur correspondentjonah fisher has the latest from jerusalem. the israeli military said they found the body of youssef al—ziyadne on tuesday in a tunnel in southern gaza near rafah. his identity was then confirmed through forensic

analysis. nearthe confirmed through forensic analysis. near the body was what the idf is calling findings which give them serious concern for the life of his son. both men were taking hostage during the hamas attack of october 7 2023. they were in fact taken with two teenage children from the same family. they were released in the november of that year during an exchange of hostages been released in return for some palestinian prisoners also being released. there has been some reaction from the hostages families forum, they say the time and conditions are now right for the return of all the hostages, the right for the return o