At least five wildfires are raging in Los Angeles and neighbouring counties - three of the blazes are completely uncontained
A fire that broke out in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday is approaching the world-famous Hollywood sign
Meanwhile, buildings along the city's Sunset Boulevard are in ruins
A fire chief tells the BBC the Hollywood Hills blaze is rapidly expanding with "zero" chance of containing it
Paris Hilton is among the A-list stars who have lost their homes
Five people are confirmed dead and more than 137,000 people have been evacuated in what has become the most destructive wildfire in LA's history
Hollywood landmarks at risk as fires continue burning in LA
Before the news conference concludes, Sheriff Luna offered a few more details about the five people who died.
He says the victims were all found near the Eaton Fire, but their cause of death is not yet known.
He added that homicide detectives have been dispatched to the scene "to make sure everything is done appropriately" in terms of the investigation.
"At the end of the day, it's absolutely tragic," he says.
Mayor Bass has just defended her absence when the wildfires broke out in the city on Tuesday - she was on a trip to Africa.
"I was on the phone almost every hour of the flight," Bass says.
"Although I was not physically here, I was in contact with many of the individuals standing here throughout the entire time," she said.
Bass left town on Saturday as part of a presidential delegation to Accra to celebrate the inauguration of Ghana President John Mahama.
She returned on Wednesday to find her city in flames.
The mayor has also been facing criticism amid reports she cut more than $17m from the fire department’s budget last summer.
Image source, ReutersMayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom get a briefing about an area damaged by the Palisades wildfire
Officials have just confirmed another fire has broken out in the Hollywood Hills, near Runyon Canyon.
Chief Crowley said that there are "active water drops" taking place in the area.
She was unable to provide more information, noting that officials had just been informed about the fire minutes earlier. Crowley then abruptly left the press conference to deal with the emerging threat.
Runyon Canyon and the Hollywood Hills are among the most famous parts of Los Angeles - and are home to the iconic Hollywood sign.
Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho says the district has lost two schools in the Palisades, which were "completely destroyed".
Carvalho said eight centres will be set up for food to be distributed to students from the district.
Schools across the district will be closed on Thursday because of dangerous conditions including from smoke and air quality, says Carvalho.
"Our first priority is to protect wellbeing of our workforce and our students and that is what we are doing now," he says.
Janisse Quiñones, head of the LA Department of Water and Power, says that water continues to flow in Pacific Palisades' main system - although it has faced significant issues during the fires.
According to Quiñones, the winds affected air support, while a significant number of hoses connected to the system amid the firefighting effort hampered the water flow, particularly at higher elevations.
A total of 19 water tankers have been deployed, she adds.
She also urged residents to inform authorities about any issues with water.
We've just heard from Los Angeles police chief Jim McDonnell, who says the fire conditions are "unprecedented" and "unpredictable".
McDonnell ended his brief remarks by saying that looting "will not be tolerated at all".
He urged people to stay out of areas affected by the fires - a warning we've heard repeated several times today.
There have been at least three arrests for looting so far, says Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.
"If you do not belong in these areas, do not go there," he says.
"These people have gone through so much, don't put them through more than they have to go through", he adds.
We're hearing now from the Los Angeles County fire chief, Anthony Marrone, who says the Eaton Fire has grown to 10,600 acres with 0% containment.
"Unfortunately we have five reported civilian fatalities, a number of injuries, and over 1,000 structures damaged or destroyed," he said.
He added officials from outside California, including from Arizona, have arrived to help the firefighting efforts.
Chief Crowley says that firefighters have been experiencing problems with water pressure as they combat the Palisades Fire.
First responders are pulling water from ponds, pools and other available water sources as they fight the blaze.
The focus, she says, remains on savings lives, evacuations and rescues.
"We are not out of danger," she adds.
Image source, US PoolChief Crowley says they have called in extra firefighters.
Some 1,792 personnel have been deployed, she says.
"The Palisades Fire continues to demand significant resources," Crowley says.
"It's over 15,800 acres and is growing."
Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley says the Hurst Fire has grown to 700 acres, with evacuations ongoing and "multiple structures" threatened.
The Woodley Fire is controlled, and has burned about 30 acres in total.
Crowley also says there have been "an extensive number" of medical emergencies in the city while the fires were ongoing.
Los Angeles County official Lindsey Horvath is now speaking. Horvath says she has visited evacuation centres to meet with those who fled the flames.
Horvath is sharing information for local residents on how to access emergency services and insurance. She also mentions:
Kathryn Barger, the supervisor of Los Angeles County, urges residents to heed the evacuation order from the Eaton Fire.
She added that she was "shocked" to see people, some of whom do not even live in the neighbourhood, walking around normally even as first responders worked.
"To those of you who have lost homes, please reach out for help," she added, noting that many lost "everything they had".
"Reach out," she added. "Love thy neighbour."
Mayor Bass urges people to follow evacuation orders. She says fire crews from around the state, and across the country, are involved in efforts.
"These winds continue to blow," she says, adding they are still facing strong wind warnings.
In some good news, the mayor says the Woodley fire is under control, and air operations have resumed, but that could change if the winds pick up.
Image source, US PoolLos Angeles Mayor Karen Bass begins by sending her condolences to those who lost loved ones, and to those who lost property.
"This firestorm is the big one in magnitude," she says.
She says these were "hurricane force" winds that didn't come with rain, they came with extremely dry conditions.
She calls the front lines of the fires "staggering".
Los Angeles city and county officials are now holding a press conference.
We're expecting to hear from the LA fire department and the mayor.
You can click watch live at the top of this page to follow along.
Officials in Pasadena have just finished giving a news conference about about the fires raging in the area.
In about 10 minutes at 17:00 local time (01:00 GMT) we're also expecting another update from the Los Angeles Fire Department and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
You will be able to watch it live at the top of this page. Stay with us for more updates.
"What caused a lot of last night's issues was dynamic winds," says Pasadena Fire Chief Augustin.
He says the fire's spread was fueled by "very erratic winds", which abruptly shifted direction at 02:00 PT last night, triggering new evacuations in the community of Glendale.
He says that more fire spread could happen on Thursday, but the "erratic winds" are likely to subside.
"We were prepared for a wind event as well as a possible brush fire," he says, saying that crews throughout LA County were "nimble" in their response.
Pasadena Police Chief Gene Harris says his officers were among the first at the scene of the Eaton fire last night.
What began as a safety investigation "turned into a rescue evacuation scenario," he says.
He calls the rescue effort "robust", and says that officers are committed to "community safety".
Roughly 150 officers are patrolling the city, he says, and are ensuring that "homes around the burn area are secure".
"We are gonna be staunch and very stern about this community protection mission," he says, threatening that people who have no legal right to be near the burn zones could face arrest.
Fire crews in Pasadena had issues accessing water last night, says Chief Augustin, but the severe winds means that more water would not have made any difference in firefighting efforts.
"When you have multiple city blocks on fire... it's gonna stretch our water system," the fire chief says.
"On top of that we had loss of power, temporarily, which impacted our water system," he continues.
"We could have had much more water [but] with those wind gusts, we were not stopping that fire last night."
Image source, ReutersChad Augustin, the fire chief of Pasadena, says that more than 750 firefighters are currently working to fight the Eaton fire - which is now more than 10,600 acres in size.
Crews are coming from all over California, and as far away as Arizona, he says. Crews out there are "exhausted" and desperately need back up, he adds.
So far, somewhere between 200 to 500 structures are "damaged or lost".
Conditions last night were so windy that embers were being spotted "two to three miles ahead of the fire".
Luckily, winds have died down enough for aircrafts to resume dropping water onto the fire.
He predicts "good progress" will be made to supress the fire in the next several days.