deadly wildfires continue to rage across los angeles — ten people have been killed — and more than 150,000 residents have been ordered to evacuate. la's county sheriff says the suburbs look like they've been hit by an atomic bomb. more than 55 square miles have burned. we will bring you the latest from our teams on the ground and hearfrom people caught up in the chaos. 0ur our other headlines. donald trump is given an unconditional discharge in connection with hush money paid to a porn star — it means he won't go to jail. the us supreme court is hearing an appeal by tiktok against a law that will ban the platform in nine days�* time. and the uk home office is monitoring elon musk�*s social media posts and accounts who engage with them as a possible security risk.

welcome back. let's return to the us. thousands of firefighters are still trying to control five blazes, that have devastated los angeles, burning down swathes of the city and reducing some of the world's most expensive and sought after properties to ashes. there's been some progress in containing the wildfires, but firefighters say changes in wind strength and direction could make things more difficult over the course of the day. more than 150,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes, a further 160,000 have been warned to be ready to evacuate quickly. the los angeles county sheriff told the bbc — the city's suburbs looked as if they'd been hit by an atomic bomb. many neighbourhoods have been left unrecognisable. the destruction is expected to cost up to $150 billion and the national guard has been deployed. a night—time curfew has been imposed in the areas impacted

by the pacific palisades and eaton fires and police warn that anyone involved in "despicable" looting will be arrested. let me show you what fire fighters are battling. five fires continue to burn. only one of them — lidia — is anywhere near contained. these are the live pictures from the helicopters that are flying. you heard about the planes that were hit by a drone. they only have two. government when we are in the emergency operations centre, we carry with us our friends and neighbours. this is what this is all about. as will the

friends, neighbours and loved ones who have fled their homes, those who have lost their homes, those who have lost their lives. let me give you more of a picture of what it's like trying to battle these fires. captain adam is one of the many on the front lines. it will not fire change directions numerous time. the latest right now we're out at pacific palisades fire, and we have approximately

20,000 acres that have burned so far. so, we have 2,300 firefighters who are on scene still battling this fire. so, we have some of the most erratic wind conditions that i've ever seen in my 25 years. this the fire changed direction numerous times, and our firefighters were having an active firefight all through the night, so we are still having some winds. we're in what we call red flag wind conditions going through until tomorrow night, so we are still have all crews on deck standing by. your teams are working around the clock and that's been the case for day after day. just give me a sense of what that is like. well, ourfirefighters have been getting very little to no sleep, especially the first two or three nights. so the first few nights it was nonstop structure fires as far as the eye can see. we were up and down our pacific coast highway all throughout the hills and ourfirefighters, this is what we train for. but what we haven't seen

is these these erratic winds, the way that it spread through this entire community. so, ourfirefighters are tired, but this is also what we trained to do. and so we are going to be remaining on scene until we get 100% containment of this fire. as you're talking, we're seeing pictures of some of the biggest fires that are still burning. just tell me you talked about the wind, but give me more a sense of what the fundamental difficulties... because the size, the area this is covering and also the speed, presumably all of that is, is making it so difficult to actually bring it under control. yeah, so on the first couple days of this fire, the rate at which the wind was blowing, people had only

minutes to evacuate, so we did. we knew this event was coming. we alerted the people in the community. we had pre—deployed ourfire resources standing by for this, but nothing could have prepared us for how fast and how erratic this fire spread. so we're fighting fire from one direction. we're spraying water and it's going 90 degrees to the side. and then as soon as we're putting the fire out, if there's an ember cast, we had ember cast that were spreading this fire throughout the entire community. so you have you're put you're fighting a fire, so you're fighting a fire, you knock one down and then the embers start another one on fire. so also we have evacuation issues, so everybody�*s trying to evacuate at one time. we have some choke points in there. people actually had to get out of their vehicles

and were running for safety. now, these vehicles that they abandoned creates a gridlock, so that has to be removed. so, we had a lot of issues with this fire, but this is something that we have not seen to this level or this extent. you talk about the embers, let me explain to our viewers, because i've heard descriptions of this. they're almost like small fireballs that the wind is picking up and then moving them maybe one mile or two miles ahead of the main fire line. and that means you then have a potential new fire to deal with. so, all the time, there are new problems being thrown up. there's also the problem of a lack of water coming out of high hydrants. so if you're fighting fire in an entire community from all different angles and everyone is is spread out, you sometimes have some water issues. so as firefighters, we're trained how to deal with that. we have water tankers that are out there that we're supplying our firefighters. we also have what we call

a relay shuttle operations, where we take water from one fire engine and bring it to another. but, event was so fast—moving that we really had to be ready for anything. in terms of a couple of the big blazes the eton fire, the palisades fire, what level of containment are you at at the moment? so, right now, we're about 6% containment with the palisades fire, which is where i'm at. so, the eton fire, i can't speak on the containment in the southern california area, even as we're fighting the palisades in los angeles city, we have otherfires breaking out within the city. so, we still have to manage those within different fires. so, while we're fighting fire last night, we had one broke out in the los angeles valley, and we had to deploy air assets and drop fire retardant on that. and that one went quickly from the 50,000 to 80,000 acres. the 50,000 to 80,000 acres,

and we had to put a quick stop to that. so we're having to we're fighting on many fronts out here. you can see with some of the inch dell my biggest fires, what they are battling. you are the captain they're talking about the problems of wind speeds. you can see that in terms of smoking fires, and thatis terms of smoking fires, and that is what they are constantly dealing with. the wind whipping up those fires and moving them at speed. it's been incredible listening to people over the last two days. we'll hear from a swimmer who described how fast those flames moved. that is what the fire crews are dealing with on the ground. the speed of those fires, the way the wind is moving things around, that's even affecting the water drops when those planes and helicopters have been using, the way it wins the water around. just get a sense from those helicopter pictures some

of the hazards. this is been so difficult, the worst they've ever had to experience. that's what the fire captain was saying to me earlier when i was doing that interview. he has worked for 25 years, and nothing compares to what we are seeing playing out here now. as these live pictures as well, we have been talking to meteorologists about the winds because that is so critical. changes in wind strength and direction will be the pivotal point about what those firefighters can get these fires under control. i've been speaking to jonathan fires under control. i've been speaking tojonathan porter, speaking to jonathan porter, and speaking tojonathan porter, and he's told me what he was seeing. estate 30—50 mph. good news is during the day today, the

winds can ease a bit and up be as gusty, but there will still be gusty winds at times and we remain concerned that that can result in continued spread of the fires and new fires. matthew, good afternoon. the challenges that we're continuing to deal with, those gusty winds, those offshore winds right in the areas where we have these large fires have these large fires occurring, as peter was mentioning, and the winds have been quite active, are gusting 30—50mph over the last couple of hours. the good news is that during the day today, those winds can ease back a bit and be not as gusty, but they're still going to be gusty winds at times in these areas. and with the dry conditions, we remain concerned

that that can result in continued spread of these fires and new fires to potentially develop. so the fire issue is going to continue to be a major issue. and then another bout of offshore winds, gusty offshore winds looks likely monday into tuesday. i saw accuweather quoting in terms of damage and estimates. it is way over $100 billion already, isn't it? it's a staggering toll. accuweather updated yesterday. we significantly upped our number based on new information and new data about the fires to a preliminary estimate for total damage and economic loss of 135 to $150 billion. it will be the largest, most destructive wildfire in california history and if not the us modern history in terms ofjust how significant and how damaging this truly devastating and tragic fire has been. that was jonathan porter. that wasjonathan porter. let me try to give you a better idea was like on the ground. battling the pledges. we've been walking through the wreckage of pacific palisades. it's an extraordinary sight. bits of it are still smoking, and the remains of people's lives are everywhere — their cars, their possessions. just total and utter devastation. and it goes on for block after block after block. but if you come down here onto the main road, just seeing some melted metalfrom a car on the floor here, it's quite a sight.

when you look out into this neighbourhood, as you can see, it's once would have been a really picturesque, quaint little american street — white picket fences, the sort of classic american neighbourhood that you'd think of in films and television programmes, but now, just complete devastation. and it's difficult to imagine what it's going to feel like for people who are coming back to this. but because so many neighbourhoods are now abandoned, looting has become an issue in places like this because although much of it is flattened, burnt out to the ground, every now and again, there is a house miraculously still standing. and so there's been at least 20 arrests for looting. police are warning people that are coming into these areas if they don't have a good reason, they will be clamping down on that. looting will not be tolerated because they say these victims have already suffered and now people are coming in to exploit them further. but this is a place utterly unrecognisable. and you can only imagine

what it feels like if this was your home, your life, your memories, and that this is what you were returning to. what a in extraordinary shot from emma on the ground. == from emma on the ground. -- what an from emma on the ground. —— what an extraordinary shot. the district attorney warned people that looting would meet a severe response. looting is a despicable crime. of looting is a despicable crime. of the — looting is a despicable crime. of the people of been arrested of the people of been arrested already. — of the people of been arrested already, i know this is not going _ already, i know this is not going to _ already, i know this is not going to end well. you will be punished _ going to end well. you will be punished to the full extent of the law— punished to the full extent of the law and i'm sending this warning _ the law and i'm sending this warning wes is out again. if you — warning wes is out again. if you want_ warning wes is out again. if you want to go and take advantage of people who are tragically suffering enormous losses — tragically suffering enormous losses in this county, the district _ losses in this county, the district attorney's office working with law enforcement make — working with law enforcement make sure you are arrested, you are prosecuted, you are maximally punished.

that was the district attorney. i'v e i've been speaking to gary hall, who has lost everything, including his 0lympic medals. i've lost everything, i've lost property in my home, and business, and my business is with the swim school. i teach kids how to swim, and i've gotten to know these families extremely well. the number of them that have reached out letting me know they've lost everything, it's heartbreaking. knowing i will never see most of these families again, even more devastating. but the loss is incomprehensible.— is incomprehensible. yes, and so many thousands _ is incomprehensible. yes, and so many thousands of - is incomprehensible. yes, and so many thousands of people | so many thousands of people have horrific distressing

stories to tell. just a quick postscript, when i talk about the olympic medals, so in terms of you having to get out of your home, did all happen too quickly? i your home, did all happen too cuickl ? ., your home, did all happen too cuickl ? . ., ,, ., ., , quickly? i had approximately three minutes. _ quickly? i had approximately three minutes. the - quickly? i had approximately three minutes. the burning i three minutes. the burning embers were raining down on me as i got to the car. i chose my dog over the olympic medals. good for you. we're seeing pictures of the medals, and i'm sure they were prized possessions. but that is incredible that you say you had three minutes to get out. had you seen the flames on the side of the valley? just take me through that, because that seems extraordinary. yeah, i saw a plume _ seems extraordinary. yeah, i saw a plume of _ seems extraordinary. yeah, i saw a plume of smoke. - seems extraordinary. yeah, i saw a plume of smoke. the | seems extraordinary. yeah, i i saw a plume of smoke. the trail was leading directly over my roof. that plume of smoke doubled in width in a minute or

less, and i saw the flames less than a minute later. i think, as i saw it, bursting into flames, i knew it was time to go. could i have stayed 30 seconds longer? i wasn't willing to take that risk. the embers were close enough for me. yeah, the wind was blowing so strong, the planes are moving so fast, —— flames, it descended to panic and just chaos. it was scary. it was very scary. chaos. it was scary. it was very scary-— chaos. it was scary. it was very scary. i'm sure it was. just tell— very scary. i'm sure it was. just tell me. _ very scary. i'm sure it was. just tell me, as _ very scary. i'm sure it was. just tell me, as you - very scary. i'm sure it was. just tell me, as you have i just tell me, as you have driven around, tell me what you

seen and where you ended up. mr; seen and where you ended up. my sister seen and where you ended up. ij�*i: sister lives seen and where you ended up. m: sister lives in north seen and where you ended up. m; sister lives in north san diego county. i drove down wednesday, spent a night in the hotel and came down and spent the last... driving back today. to sift through the ashes and see if there's anything that can be... salvage. there's anything that can be... salvaae. ., .,, there's anything that can be... salvaae. . ., , , ., salvage. that was the olympian gary hall talking _ salvage. that was the olympian gary hall talking to me. - salvage. that was the olympian gary hall talking to me. let - salvage. that was the olympian gary hall talking to me. let me| gary hall talking to me. let me tell you the live pictures from the helicopters above los angeles. one of the police chief talking earlier saying the suburbs looking like they had been hit by atomic bonds. —— atomic bombs. two of the biggest fires and those of the live pictures of commands was here at bbc.

around the world and across the uk. you are watching bbc news.

a new yorkjudge has given donald trump an unconditional discharge over his conviction last year on multiple charges of fraud. the sentence means he avoids prison or a fine, but formalises his status as the first us president to be a convicted felon. his lawyers argued unsuccessfully for presidential immunity after he was found guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal. our correspondent nada tawfik gave us this update. thejudge limited his response. each sentence donald trump to unconditional discharge. on all 34 unconditional discharge. on all 3a criminal counts, which as you laid out, means the case is concluded, the guilty verdict good on —— goes on his record, but no punishment attached. in thejudge explains that but no punishment attached. in the judge explains that it was essentially the only lawful a

sentence he could impose given donald trump's upcoming presidency. the only one he can lawfully impose without encroaching upon the highest office in the land. but we did see from both the prosecution and the defence again very different narratives. prosecutors were actually the first to speak. joshua stein spoke about how while they did understand the need for a sentence of unconditional discharge and did respect the office of the presidency, they did feel donald trump had done lasting damage to the justice system with the kind of coordinated campaign of under the rule of law, of speaking with disdain aboutjudges and prosecutors. donald trump on the other hand did take an opportunity to speak and said he was completely innocent and repeated claims that this was all a political witch hunt and

that the voters had seen through it and had elected him backin through it and had elected him back in office. matthew, donald trump does plan to appeal this case. part of having him sentenced today means the case can be concluded and he can proceed with an appeal. nada, of course. _ proceed with an appeal. nada, of course, this _ proceed with an appeal. nada, of course, this brings - proceed with an appeal. nada, of course, this brings to - proceed with an appeal. nada, of course, this brings to an - of course, this brings to an end all these different cases that financially faced, had so muchjeopardy for that financially faced, had so much jeopardy for donald trump. it muchjeopardy for donald trump. it really is quite something, matthew. this was the least serious of the criminal cases that donald trump —based, but nevertheless, it was the only one to eventually go to trial and end in a guilty verdict, the first former or sitting president to be convicted in a criminal case. because it was a state case, donald trump wasn't able to stop this moving forward and certainly before the election, there was a jury

verdict. thejudge also emphasised just the verdict. the judge also emphasised just the sanctity of a jury verdict, which even the office of the president can't erase the fact that a jury has spoken. but nevertheless, now that donald trump has been elected, we've seen the special counsel — jack smith effectively end — the federal cases against him. the case in georgia cases ag