on the wildfires in los angeles. the main headlines... disaster and devastation — at least five wildfires continue to burn across parts of la — an unprecedented emergency for the city. it is safe to say that the palisades fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of los angeles. this is just some of the devastation left in the fires�* wake — whole communities razed to the ground. we're having to walk — this is crazy. there's a fire right outside our car. panic, as residents flee their cars to escape the flames. more than 180,000 people have had to leave their homes. we had to leave their homes. had so many memories that we had so many memories here that cannot be replaced. some things are just lost forever. i know safe, but... i don't

understand. this is the scene live in los angeles — as the authorities say they're hopeful the tide could be turning. we'll get the very latest from our correspondents on the ground, as this fast—moving story develops. helllo, i'm maryam moshiri — welcome to a special bbc news programme on the most destructive wildfires ever to hit los angeles. let's take you straight to the live live pictures coming into us. you can see there in the distance, the thick black smoke emanating from this mountain is seen. the fire continues in so many areas around los angeles, and the area surrounding so many different residential parts. and you can see here

that it's continuing in strength in some of those key areas. now, let me show you some incredible pictures you can see the empty gaps of rubble and charred material in the pacific palisades neighbourhood, where houses and buildings used to be. the utter devastation is unbelievable, and these pictures give you an idea of the ferocity of these flames as they pass through the area. you can see they are, houses just completely destroyed by the fire, absolutely devastating for those who live there. let's take a look at where the fires have spread to. the first to start was on tuesday morning, in the pacific palisades neighbourhood — an affluent area in northwestern los angeles, home to some 23,000 people, including dozens of a—list celebrities. it spread rapidly — look at how fast it moved in just five hours, thanks to the strong winds

and extensive droughts. by ”pm local time, the fire had ripped through more than 17,000 acres of land. it's the biggest of five fires raging througout los angeles. eaton fire, to the north of la, is the next—biggest, followed by three other smaller fires, hurst, lidia, and sunset. we are live in los angeles with our correspondents across the city. let's look at more like pictures coming into us at the bbc, and they are showing us huge flames roaring in the background there, and thick black smoke coming from this mountainous area. as i explained earlier, there's been a huge number of fires throughout various areas, five in all, some bigger than areas

that micro others. the captain of the la fire department said crews are continuing to battle erratic winds as they continue to control these fires. in fact, we heard earlier during the press conference from adam bangor penn, who said this. " the situation is unlike anything i've ever seen in my 25 years on the fire department." he also said that the priority for the fire department was saving lives and helping people to evacuate. so as we look at these huge flames climbing up into thick black smoke in the sky, i can tell you that the latest figures tell us five people have lost their lives during these wildfires. nearly 180,000 people have been asked by authorities to leave their homes and evacuate the areas where they are living. you can see the sheer ferocity of these flames — these pictures coming into us life at bbc news.

but let's start with this report from our la correspondent emma va rdy. the scale of this disaster is clear to see. block after block, a blanket of destruction. more than 1,000 buildings burned in this community alone. emergency services unable to save them. and still, they burn — the most catastrophic fires los angeles has ever seen. 0vernight the hollywood hills resembling a disaster movie. a huge crescent of flowing engulfing an iconic community of california. more 130,000 people have been told to evacuate their homes. here, just one of many properties engulfed — turned to a shell. a lot of the stories of heroic

actions by our deputy sheriffs, police officers, fire officers — a lot of them are taking place from people who did not choose to evacuate, putting their own lives at risk. so please, if you're asked to evacuate, evacuate, because it's not only your life you're putting in danger. at least five major fires have been burning across los angeles county. the scale and spread has stretched firefighting crews, on the ground and in the air. 16,000 acres and counting, consumed by the inferno. 0ne street filmed confirmed by a local resident, moments before he left. i thought i would be able to get some extra stuff that we didn't take — and come to see that the whole

street is just gone. it's like a war zone. i mean, we had so many memories were that cannot be replaced. i had these great old pictures of my grandfather from world war ii — both grandfathers — and i was going to get them framed. and now, they're gone, they're lost. so many things are just lost forever. i know we're safe, but... i don't understand. copy that. fuelled by hurricane—force winds, these fires have struck at a vulnerable time. la hasn't seen any significant length for months. currently, we're at the palisades fire, which is a very dynamic, fast—moving brushfire. i'm looking out the window here and wind gusts are still 50—70 mph, headed right to the ocean, and turning back round and heading up the canyon. there's embers flying 1.5—2 miles ahead of the fire, with a 75% chance that would ignite a new fire. so they were caught in a very difficult situation.

as dawn came in the palisades, it revealed the grim reality of what the fire has left behind. there are miles and miles of streets like this, in utter shock at the devastation here. communitiesjust vanished, now ghost towns, and once dream homes turned to dust. no—one is immune. mansions now ash. the homes ofjennifer aniston, rihanna, adam sandler, and paris hilton among those evacuated. the scale of disruption has upended life in los angeles — and this ravaged city is braced for more. let's ta ke let's take you once more to these live pictures coming into us at the bbc. you can see there that the fires are still raging — these pictures coming in from the area that is known

as la county. now there are different areas that i showed you earlier in that map that are ablaze, different fires, different sizes, different impacts of all these flames. but you can see here, you get an idea of the amount of smoke that comes from these fires because the vegetation is so dry, the smoke is so thick, it's caused a huge white cloud to sit over the city of la. let's cross live to los angeles — and our la correspondent, emma vardy, is in pacific palisades. yama it's quite a contrast to yesterday, because the flames were still burning. they've - were still burning. they've died down with the fire moving up died down with the fire moving up into the hills, but earlier we were picking through the wreckage really of what was left in the pacific palisades neighbourhood, and it'sjust neighbourhood, and it's just absolutely neighbourhood, and it'sjust absolutely unbelievable, just so many streets devastated.

nothing like you've ever seen before in los angeles history. and people are really grieving about this because the community's used to wildfires here, people living in the hills know it's a risk, but never before have people seen such residential areas so badly affected, and they felt they didn't know where to turn with fires in all direction. so i think the reality of this is only starting to sink in for the city, because parts of it will never look the same again. they aren't, and we are hearing about fires that are still raging, some fires are beginning to be brought under control, but others are not. there's a big difference, depending on where you are in la right now?— la right now? that's right, up in the hills, — la right now? that's right, up in the hills, they _ la right now? that's right, up in the hills, they are - la right now? that's right, up in the hills, they are still- in the hills, they are still very much raging after control. it's dryer and when you're up there, but in general, the winds are calm her today, so the wind is helping to provide this calm or window which is, it's hoped the emergency services are now getting their best chance to start to get

some control over the worst part of this. some of the fire's growth has slowed, but they talk about a containment — they talk about a containment — they still don't have containment of the worst fires, but these hours right now, with the winds much lower, will be absolutely crucial to try to get some progress really. because as we approach the evening, the forecast is for the winds to pick up once again — not to hurricane force, but make life a bit more difficult every time those winds start blowing once again. everybody has everything across to the emergency services today because this is really their best chance yet.— because this is really their best chance yet. emma, 'ust talk me through i best chance yet. emma, 'ust talk me through some h best chance yet. emma, just talk me through some of- best chance yet. emma, just talk me through some of the stories you've been hearing? i've been listening to some of them — people who have seen their entire belongings or home burned to the ground, and it's very difficult to hear. it’s burned to the ground, and it's very difficult to hear.— very difficult to hear. it's a total nightmare _ very difficult to hear. it's a total nightmare for - very difficult to hear. it's a | total nightmare for people. very difficult to hear. it's a - total nightmare for people. all those memories, parts of your life you can never get back.

people have had to just leave those behind, and it's a real difficult, life—changing event to come to terms with, and so many people and neighbours going through exactly the same thing. and of course, some people still don't know what's left behind because areas are still too dangerous to go back to. just going through some places, people have been stopping us as reporters and saying, asking if there houses are still standing, people e—mailing me, asking if i've seen certain properties. you feel so much empathy for people who just need some certainty if their life is still there or not. but of course, surviving this and escaping with your life is more important than any possessions. i think there is a grieving process for people who lost their homes, and just as general sorrow for los angeles, a place at the world—famous that people are so proud to live here, it's a very cool place to live, you've got everything from the movie

industry, celebrity culture, to the counterculture and surfing. it's a unique place that people love, and the whole city is grieving as ofjust how much it's changed and what's happened. it's changed and what's ha ened. . ., ~' ,, let's have a look at some time—lapse pictures released by the university of california san diego of the fires rapidly tearing through the santa monica mountains — you can see how the flames burn through the forest — these pictures cover a period of 12 hours. another time—lapse captures intensity of palisades fire burning through a canyon. and here's a "before" snapshot of the northern area of eaton — and a satelite image of what's there now. fla mes flames and redness there. you can see where the second—biggest fire has torn through the neighbourhood. let's speak to our correspondent helena humphrey, who's in altadena, near the eaton fire in la. talk us through what's there

now. . �* , , talk us through what's there now. ., �* , , , , now. that's right, this is very sadly where _ now. that's right, this is very sadly where five _ now. that's right, this is very sadly where five people - now. that's right, this is very sadly where five people lost l sadly where five people lost their lives due to the eaton fire, an evacuation order is still in place here but in some areas, where we have seen the flames died down a little, we've been able to get in and take a look at the level of destruction. ijust want destruction. i just want to show it to you because everywhere you go, you see scenes replicated like this one — you can see here, chart out vehicles for example as people had to scramble for their lives, leaving everything behind, 10,000 acres have burned here, the equivalent of 10,000 nfl soccer pitches, football pitches if you think of it that way. and here you can see so many houses which have been raised to the ground, perhaps you could even see some plumes of smoke with these hot spots. but what's so striking here is when you spot little scenes from everyday life, seems we all recognise — patio furniture for example, perhaps

where people would've sat out, had a chat, had breakfast together as a family, over this direction, things like a washer and dryer, just driving that point home about what so many people here have lost. and as we've been here, we've been speaking to some residents who tentatively, gingerly are coming back, finding it very difficult to speak — some people with just tears in their eyes over their masks as they come back and see what is... everything here, as you can see. and having to be cautious as well because these power lines are still down. in the dark right now, one image really striking is this telegraph pole, if wejust really striking is this telegraph pole, if we just come across the side of the street, because as you can see, it's quite literally hanging by a thread just a few power cables there, holding it up. also look

in this direction, you can see that haze in the air, just to give you a sense — it looks like sunset here, but it's just around midday. that smoke is just still so choking, ashes coming down here right now. local authorities have said it looks like a bomb has gone off — and really, that is how it feels right now. so many people impacted — we talk about the glitz and glamour of hollywood, those a—list celebrities impacted, but even so many regular people caught up in this area — in this area, for example, elderly care homes evacuated, those residents wheeled out in wheelchairs in the night, hurricane force winds with embers flaring around them. this isjust a snapshot of what so many people right now are facing. helena, thank yom — so what do we know about the fires burning in the la area? the palisades fire — the first fire to erupt on tuesday, and the biggest

fire in the region. it has scorched a