The president, briefing reporters on measures the US government is taking to tackle the disaster, says his approval of a major disaster declaration will allow residents to request cash to pay for necessities like groceries, baby formula and prescription drugs via the website disasterassistance.gov, external.

He says he’s increased federal funding for disaster relief and has ordered 30 firefighting helicopters and planes to the Los Angeles, as well as eight military C-130s - huge cargo planes that are specially equipped to fight fires.

Firefighters and aircraft from Canada will be traveling south to the fire zone, and the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Deanne Criswell is in Los Angeles, Biden says.

“We are with you. We’re not going anywhere,” he adds. “To the firefighters and first responders, you are heroes.”

Vice-President Kamala Harris, speaking now, calls the wildfires "an urgent matter" and describes the scenes from southern California as "apocalyptic".

“We are seeing a situation that is extremely dynamic," she says. "It is very much in play and in some degree unpredictable because we are literally waiting to see which way the wind blows."

We heard earlier that powerful winds are expected to strengthen overnight in some areas, with winds expected through Friday, which forecasters warn could fan the flames further.

Harris also calls out insurance companies cancelling plans for families who've been affected by these fires, which she says will only delay access to resources that could assist with recovery.

US President Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris are now taking part in a televised briefing, from the White House, on the wildfires.

We're listening in and will bring you any key updates.

Image source, Ruth Berman Harris

A woman who rescued sacred scrolls from a synagogue destroyed in the Los Angeles fires has told the BBC she would have done everything possible to rescue them.

Ruth Berman Harris was the cantor at the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, which was destroyed in the Eaton Fire.

Before the fire took hold, Harris managed to rescue the Torah scrolls - the sacred objects that are read from during prayer services throughout the year.

Asked if she - and her husband - had any hesitation about going into the building she said: "Of course not…the building had smoke inside but the flames were not close enough for me to feel I was in danger - and I would have done anything I could until the last moment I felt I was safe to be able to rescue the torahs from our synagogue."

“We were there for about 15 minutes tops – the first 10 there was electricity, there was a lot of smoke, I made sure we were wearing our masks and then we were able to put them in the car...in times when you know what is the right thing to do, you don’t need to think twice, you just do it – so I did," she told the BBC World Service's Newshour programme.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has put out a post on social media, saying the Sunset Fire - one of the five that's been burning in LA - is now "fully contained".

This is "thanks to the bravery and collaboration" of the Los Angeles Fire Department, she says in the post on X, adding: "If you are returning home, please drive slowly and watch the road. Firefighters are still working in some damaged areas."

Cal Fire's website is still showing the fire as being uncontained - we've reached out to them to confirm what Bass is saying and will bring you an update when we have it.

Max Matza & Christal Hayes
Reporting from Altadena, California

We've just come across a tense scene in Altadena near the Eaton fire, which is so far responsible for the deaths of at least five people.

California Highway Patrol deputies are trying to keep residents out of the evacuation zone while they simultaneously allow personnel from various government agencies and utility companies to enter.

Residents linger near the checkpoint, arguing with the police to let them enter their neighbourhood.

Some people can be seen periodically lifting the "do not enter" yellow tape strung across the road in order to allow vehicles driven by strangers to pass.

Police on motorcycles then swiftly confront them.

Arson investigators are looking into the start of the Palisades Fire that has devastated the Los Angeles area, according to US media reports.

A total of 21 officials, including 16 arson investigators and a dog trained to sniff out fire accelerants, are working on the case, the Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley told CNN today.

Palisades was the first of the fires to break out on Tuesday and has grown to at least 17,234 acres. The fire is currently 0% contained.

Image source, Getty Images

We're getting the latest weather forecast from the US's National Weather Service (NWS) now.

High winds and low humidity are set to continue into tomorrow, which could further fan the ongoing fires in southern California.

We heard a little earlier that the fire in the Hollywood Hills now looks to be under control, but red flag warnings remain in place for much of Los Angeles.

And, going into more detail, the NWS says that the strongest winds are likely to come across the mountains.

It says these increased Santa Ana winds will bring "high end red flag conditions to the wind prone mountains and valleys" of LA, as well as the Malibu coast.

The NWS adds that this means there will be an "increased risk of rapid fire spread and extreme fire behaviour".

Max Matza
Reporting from Los Angeles

As I flew south from Seattle today, I watched the landscape change from foggy green forests to barren dry California desert. But as I approached LA, wildfire smoke covered the landscape, submerging the bone-dry hills in a yellow-brown haze.

My flight arrived early, due to a 70mph tailwind coming out of the north, according to our pilot. The fierce wind propelled us into LA about 45 minutes quicker than usual.

I'm here to join the BBC's coverage of the wildfires terrorising millions throughout the LA region.

My younger sister Zoe is among the evacuees. She lives in Topanga Canyon, which border the devastated Pacific Palisades to the West, in the direction of fire-prone Malibu.

Several local businesses around her, including her local petrol station and Thai restaurant, have already burned down.

After initially fleeing from Topanga on Tuesday to stay with family in Brentwood, she had to flee a second time that same night after a new evacuation order was issued by authorities in Santa Monica.

Now back at her first evacuation location, she so far has had no indication yet about when it will be safe for her to return home.

The BBC's Helena Humphrey is in Altadena, California, an area that has been hit hard by the Eaton Fire.

Residents in the area are still under evacuation orders. Charred vehicles line the streets and several homes have been burnt to the ground.

Kelly Chase
Reporting from Los Angeles

We are here in Altadena in Los Angeles County where neighbourhoods have been devastated by the Eaton Fire. Ash is still falling from the sky and the sun is bright red as the area is choked with thick smoke. Among the wreckage, hot spots linger and you can still see smoke rising.

The destruction is random. On some streets several homes are burned but a few remain, untouched. In homes you can see burned out appliances and patio furniture, but the ruin is so complete you can’t make out much else.

The area is heavily restricted with some residents even being turned away as police and firefighters work to secure the damaged areas.

The water company is here to turn off the water and the power is shut off with lines littering the road. One telegraph pole, burned at the bottom, remains suspended by the lines.

A woman walked past me in tears as she took in what has become of her neighbourhood.

Jonathan Josephs
BBC business reporter

The Los Angeles wildfires are set to be one of the most costly in US history.

As things stand, the US investment bank JP Morgan estimates that economic losses from the fires will cost about $50bn, a number that has more than doubled since an initial estimate on Wednesday.

A large part of that will be insured losses which are already estimated to be about $20bn.

The bank cautions that all of these figures are subject to change given the fires are not yet fully controlled and are likely to get higher as the fires continue to spread.

These numbers would make the fires the costliest in Californian history given they are significantly above the 2018 Butte County Camp fires - which led to about $10bn of insured losses and about $15bn of economic losses.

The more expensive nature of the current fires reflects the fact that more of the damage is concentrated in the affluent Pacific Palisades area - where house prices are expensive and the median home price is more than $3 million.

Image source, Reuters

The Los Angeles Lakers have become the latest sports team to postpone a fixture because of the fires.

In a statement the basketball team thanks the wider community and first responders, and says its matchup against the Charlotte Hornets will be rescheduled "to focus on what matters most today".

Reports in US media say Lakers head coach JJ Redick lost his house in the fires, but he is yet to confirm this.

The LA area is dotted with other sports teams who are also making contingency plans.

Last night’s ice hockey game between the LA Kings and the Calgary Flames was postponed to a future date, as was a women’s basketball game which was set to be played tonight at Pepperdine University.

American football fans are looking forward to a Monday night playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings. As of now the game is still on, with league officials saying the match could be played in Arizona if needed.

Christal Hayes
Reporting from Los Angeles

It's day three of living in this evolving disaster and another morning waking up to the strong smell of smoke outside and a thick haze in the air.

But at least those of us here woke up to better news than yesterday - at least slightly. The fire that erupted in the Hollywood Hills last night looks to be under control.

I was there last night, and it was pure chaos in the heart of Hollywood - people rushing with bags and suitcases unsure where to go after running from their homes. I've never felt so tense seeing fire brush up against homes and the legendary Hollywood Boulevard - which is home to the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

It's safe to say some good news was needed.

But, of course, this is just one small blaze in a series that have encircled much of the city, leaving whole communities levelled and taking numerous lives. There's still a long way to go.

Fire chiefs for the city and county told us earlier that today could prove to be productive for getting these other blazes under control - some are still 0% contained - but that will rely on the strength of winds.

Let's hope today is the day we get even more promising news. Our city needs it.

Martha Henriques
BBC Earth features editor

Image source, Getty Images

In Los Angeles, hot dry winds and plenty of vegetation helped create perfect conditions for a ferocious blaze.

"The wind does two things," says Rory Hadden, a professor of fire science at the University of Edinburgh. "It fans the flames and that pushes the fire forward through the natural world. But what it also does is it carries these small embers, which are burning pieces of vegetation that actually are the leading cause of structure loss in wildfires."

Hadden tells me flames encounter "obstacles", such as roads or buildings, when "approaching a community" - "but nothing stops these firebrands".

Add to that the hilly topography of the LA area, and you have conditions for an intense fire outbreak.

"These sorts of things can create very extreme fire behaviours that are challenging, impossible maybe, for anyone to really fight," Hadden says.

• If you'd like to learn more about this, we've compiled five images that help explain why the fires became so intense so quickly

As we've been reporting throughout today, there are at least five active fires in the Los Angeles area. Here's the latest information about the blazes from the state's fire authority:

• Palisades: At least 17,234 acres, 0% contained
• Eaton: At least 10,600 acres, 0% contained
• Hurst: At least 855 acres, 10% contained
• Lidia: At least 348 acres, 40% contained
• Sunset: At least 43 acres, 0% contained - but shrinking in size

Two other fires - Woodley and Olivas, which broke out yesterday - have now both been 100% contained, according to local fire authorities.

In an update earlier, LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said the number of damaged or destroyed structures is estimated to be in the thousands and that the Palisades fire is "one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles".

This map shows the scale of the two largest blazes:

How significant have LA Fire Department cuts been?published at 18:25 Greenwich Mean Time 9 January

18:25 GMT 9 January

By Josh Cheetham

Many users on social media have suggested, external that the severity of these fires has been worsened by cuts to the budget of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).

There has indeed been a cut in the LAFD budget for the current financial year of about $17.6m (£14.3m). But it’s one of the country’s largest fire services and this amounts to a reduction of just 2% in its overall annual spending.

But in a memo to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass last month, LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley warned that the cuts had "severely limited the department's capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires".

On Wednesday, Bass said she was "confident" that the budget cuts were not having an impact on the LAFD's response to the wildfires.

The LAFD is part of a much wider effort in California fighting the fires, including the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the LA County Fire Department, along with the federal government.

John Sudworth
North America correspondent, reporting from Pacific Palisades

Image source, Reuters

Los Angeles woke up to thick smoke over the hills and a hazy red sky. Overnight, standing next to a firetruck, we watched Pacific Palisades burn.

The fire crews told us they were desperately short of water but, even if supply was plentiful, they’d stand little chance against the intensity of the blaze.

With whole blocks burning, the flames were leaping 20 or 30 feet into the air, scattering giant burning embers into the neighbourhood and beyond.

None of the crews was authorised to speak formally to the media, but the strain was clear to see.

They were forced to use their hoses sparingly, sending short bursts of spray onto those homes still standing in the hope of stopping the spread.

It felt like a losing battle. On their radios, they heard the calls for backup elsewhere across the city.

There was a lot of information to digest there, when LA Mayor Karen Bass and various officials gathered to give us an update on the wildfires that continue to burn in and around the city.

Here are the key takeaways we think you need to know:

• Officials are hopeful that the "tide is turning", with LA's city fire chief saying winds - which helped the fires to spread - are forecast to "subside" today, and aerial firefighting allowed to resume
• Bass - who has been criticised for being out of LA on an official trip to Ghana when the fires started - says the "historic" winds and an extensive drought created the "perfect storm"
• There is no update on the death toll - which stands at five - but it's been confirmed that nearly 180,000 LA residents have been told to evacuate and authorities say they're doing what they can to ascertain if any more people have died
• An LA fire chief says firefighters "continue to place themselves in harm's way" to protect those who have not followed instructions to evacuate, with residents being urged to heed safety advice
• The Palisades fire, one of the five still burning, is thought to be "one of the worst natural disasters in the history of LA" - it now covers 17,234 acres and is 0% contained
• Meanwhile, officials revealed that 20 people have been arrested for looting abandoned homes - one official condemned those "preying on our residents during this time of crisis"

Image source, Reuters

A reporter now asks LA City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley whether a plan was in place for tackling these fires without air support - which you can read a bit more on in our last post.

She says resources were pre-deployed because they knew the winds were coming - but that these proved to be too "dynamic" and, as a result, their strategy and tactics for dealing with the fire had to change.

Crowley says they "called for the world" in terms of resources.

"We’re going to do everything in our absolute effort to do what we can do with what we’ve got."

Officials have now stopped taking questions - we're compiling a round-up of the key takeaways so stick around for that.