We're about to hear from LA Mayor Karen Bass, who will give an update on the wildfires.

You will be able to watch the briefing live at the top of this page.

Kelly Chase
Reporting from Los Angeles

I spoke to a family digging through the rubble of their grandmother’s home in Altadena to see if they could salvage anything.

The woman told me her grandmother and aunt escaped with just a small suitcase. Her grandfather fixed this house up, making it a home before he died two years ago from cancer.

His urn was inside when the house burned down.

Bicycles and a brand new motorbike were also destroyed.

“All of my memories are gone,” she told me through tears, adding her grandmother is in shock.

All that survived were some bar stools and a small elephant figurine.

“My grandmother loves elephants. I don’t know if she’ll want this, but if she doesn’t I’ll keep it.”

The family lives in Pasadena in the evacuation zone there, one town over. They haven’t been home but heard their home is okay.

They said they need to get back there today so they can get their work uniforms and return to their jobs.

Another resident told me some people in this neighbourhood had been here for 50 years. They’ve never been impacted by the natural disasters before, and now everything is gone.

Christal Hayes
Reporting from Los Angeles

Los Angeles just sent an alarming alert to everyone with a cell phone in the county. It said there is an emergency in your area and it included an evacuation warning.

The alert, which sent a blaring siren noise to millions across the county, was sent mistakenly, an official said.

Shortly after the alert, a correction was sent to phones. Janice Hahn, from the LA County Board of Supervisors, said on X that she had been informed the evacuation warning was "mistakenly issued countywide due to a technical error" and a correction would be issued.

It was the first time many of us in Los Angeles had received such an alert to our phones from these fires. These alerts are often sent when there is a severe weather alert or a missing person.

Many friends and family texted me asking if another fire had sparked. Some went to fire apps and official websites worried that another blaze had flared up.

From a firefighter using a hose to put out a spot fire to an airplane dropping flame retardant on a hillside, officials in the Los Angeles area are doing whatever they can to try and contain the fires.

Here are some of the photos we're seeing come in from today.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Christal Hayes and Max Matza
Reporting from Los Angeles

The Eaton Fire had savaged parts of the Altadena community.

Evidence of the windstorm that caused the blaze to spread more than 10,000 acres is everywhere. Trees are uprooted, branches lie on homes and in roads, roofing debris is all over sidewalks.

People here are trying to figure out what's next.

Phyllis Holmes stands in her Christmas-themed pajamas near caution tape blocking a street near her home.

This is what she was wearing when she was rushed from her home as the fire approached nearly 48 hours ago. She tells us she didn’t have time to grab photos or memorabilia from all the years she’s lived here. Now, her home is gone.

“This is all I have left,” she says, pointing to her pyjamas.

She doesn’t know where she will live or what she will do next.

“I just have to get through today.”

Pasadena fire chief Chad Augustin says more strong winds are expected on Friday, and that Tuesday of next week could see even more "robust" winds.

He adds that it has been around 262 days without rain in the area and that conditions are very dry.

The press conference has now concluded.

The Los Angeles Fire Department has issued a mandatory evacuation order after a new fire spread in the Woodland Hills area on the border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

The Kenneth Fire is burning south, the Los Angeles Fire Department says.

It is an immediate evacuation order for all residents in the following areas:

• Vanowen South to Burbank Blvd
• County Lane Road East to East Valley Circle Blvd

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Marrone says he has not received any reports that firefighters ran out of water or experienced low water pressures.

Pasadena Fire Chief Augustin says Pasadena had a short period of time where pressure was lower on a small amount of hydrants. He pointed to multiple fire engines pulling water at the same time as well as a loss of power which impacted pressure.

He stresses it was temporary and there are currently no issues.

Asked how the curfew will function, and whether people could be arrested while trying to reach their own homes, Sheriff Luna says police officers will use "good judgement [and] common sense".

"They'll approach people. They'll ask them questions. They want to make sure that they belong there," he says.

"If you don't belong there, and can't explain why you're there..., there will be further questions".

He adds that the "last thing we want to do in law enforcement is arrest somebody", but that there have been many instances of looting and trespassing.

"The mission is to protect those neighbourhoods from anybody who wants to do harm, and unfortunately we've had some people trying to do that," he says.

Image source, US Pool

Fire Chief Marrone explains that updates on the death toll are coming from the sheriff because the cause of the fire is still unknown.

He says if the cause is found to be arson then any deaths resulting from it will be considered murders.

Arson has not so far been found to be the cause of any of the fires, but arson investigators are involved in efforts to establish the cause.

Marrone adds that the winds in the area have "significantly diminished" since Wednesday, and that "we are hoping that the weather is going to continue to cooperate so we can get some perimeter line in on the fire".

California Congresswoman Judy Chu, a Democrat, says she just took a tour of the destruction in the Altadena and Pasadena areas.

"I could not believe the destruction," she says.

She described the Altadena church and library being completely gone.

"I have to really appreciate the first responders for making sure the destruction was not even greater," she adds.

Image source, gett

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Tony Marrone is now speaking.

Marrone says the Eaton Fire is estimated to be more than 13,690 acres and has grown since this morning. He says it's making its way toward the historic Mount Wilson area, and it's at 0% containment.

There are 1,527 fire personnel working to bring the fire under control.

One firefighter suffered an incident from a fall and is in stable condition at the hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery, he says.

Marrone adds there is confirmation that potentially over 4,000-5,000 structures could be damaged or destroyed.

The cause of the fire remains unknown, he says.

Sheriff Luna says the number of confirmed deaths remains at five, all in the Palisades and Eaton fires, but adds that that figure is "preliminary and it's absolutely going to change".

"We're still in a very chaotic scenario," he says. "We're still working in a very fluid and active environment. Meaning that there are still spot fires going on in areas, there's gas leaks.

"So when people are asking us for numbers of fatalities, we want to give them to you, but we have to wait until it's safe for our personnel to be able to go in there and do this right."

At least 20 people have been arrested in Los Angeles County for looting during the wildfires, officials say.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Luna says his team has been working on implementing a curfew around areas affected by the fires to address looting.

The curfew would be from 6pm to 6am local time.

Luna says the earliest the curfew would go into affect is tonight, but possibly may take effect tomorrow night.

He pointed to looting arrests throughout the county.

"That is unacceptable behavior," he says. "Having additional resources, having the National Guard with us to augment those resources will help send a stronger message."

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna is speaking now. He says his office has officially requested support from the California National Guard for both Los Angeles County and for response to the Palisades and Eaton fire.

"We are in the process and will coordinate deployments for any additional requests through the county," he says.

The sheriff says in the past 24 hours, there's been 400 national guard officers ready to assist with the response to the fire. National Guard officers are expected to arrive as early as tonight, he says.

Los Angeles authorities are giving an update on the wildfires. You can click watch live at the top of this page to follow along.

Stick with us, we'll bring you the latest.

We’ve just received an update from fire authorities who say that more than 5,300 structures have been destroyed by the Palisades blaze.

That fire has now grown to nearly 20,000 acres and is still completely uncontained.

Authorities are estimating the damage with aerial surveys. The damaged “structures” include houses and businesses, but also smaller buildings like motorhomes and sheds.

The estimate covers just one of the fires currently blanketing Los Angeles.

• For context: There are multiple fires burning in the Los Angeles area and neighbouring regions: Palisades, Eaton, Hurst and Lidia. The LA mayor says a fifth, the Sunset fire, has been contained - but we're waiting for confirmation of that from Cal Fire.

Image source, Getty Images

As firefighters continue to tackle fires across Los Angeles, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex have shared a list of resources to support struggling communities.

The couple live in Montecito, California, which has not been directly affected by the wildfires.

In an update on their website, the Duke and Duchess ask people to help offer "a safe haven" to evacuees if they are in a position to do so.

The former royals also encourage residents to "check in with any disabled or elderly neighbours", and list sites including the Animal Wellness Foundation and the World Central Kitchen among a number of organisations offering support.

President Biden and Vice-President Harris are now being briefed themselves, by various officials, after offering some details on the current state of the fires and federal assistance - which you can read in our last couple of posts.

If anything else major is announced, we'll let you know, but for now we're turning back to other updates.