Christal Hayes
Reporting from Los Angeles

Image source, Christal Hayes

While driving in Hollywood, I saw many people running away from their homes with whatever belongings they could carry.

As I pulled over, some of them responded to me in fear and anxiety.

"Are you here to help people? Where do I go?" Anna Waldman asked as I got out of my car. "Where is it safe?"

Above us, sirens had gone off and helicopter blades were whipping.

As I helped her get to a safe area, she told me she was walking her dogs and had planned to stop by a grocery store when she smelled heavy smoke.

She went back home, looked out her windows, and watched the fire move quickly through the Hollywood Hills to within a block from her home.

She packed what she could: food, clothes, blankets, food for her three small dogs. "I can't believe this," she said in exhaustion.

Makayla Jackson, 26, held her 2-year-old son Ramari on the corner of a street as they waited for a ride. They had been evacuated from a homeless shelter that was in danger of burning.

"They just told us to get out and go," she told me. She said she was heading toward Hollywood High School, where more help was being offered.

Image source, Christal Hayes

Night has fallen in Los Angeles, but there's little reprieve for firefighters, who are now battling a sixth blaze.

At least five people have died and more than 1,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed since the wildfires first ignited on Tuesday.

More than 100,000 people have been evacuated so far.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) will cancel classes and close its campus on Thursday and Friday "given the expected change in wind patterns in the hours ahead", Chancellor Julio Frenk says in a statement, external.

UCLA, located in the Westwood neighbourhood of Los Angeles, is one of the largest universities in the city, with an enrolment of about 31,600 undergraduates and 14,300 graduate and professional students each year.

"The first week of classes is typically a joyous occasion, and I am deeply sorry that the fires in our region have instead brought so much pain and caused so much devastation," Frenk says.

Meanwhile the University of Southern California, located two miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles, is keeping its campus open, external, but has asked students and faculty to work "from the safest place that gives you greatest flexibility to respond to any personal/family needs".

The US government is "prepared to do anything and everything, as long as it takes" to contain the wildfires in and help reconstruct in southern California, President Joe Biden said.

"But we know it'll be a hell of a long way," he added.

The president said he had earlier approved California governor Gavin Newsom's request for a major disaster declaration, and has also ordered federal assistance to supplement response efforts in affected areas.

In the region of the Sunset fire, winds are blowing from the north at 8 -15mph (19 - 24km/h), according to the National Weather Service.

Gusts are as high as 40km/h (25mph), weather officials say.

Later tonight they are expected to decrease to around 9 - 14 km/h (6 - 9mph).

President Joe Biden has cancelled his trip to Italy to focus on directing the federal response to the Los Angeles wildfires, his press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

The president met with police, fire and emergency personnel while he was in Los Angeles earlier today, she added.

Biden was originally scheduled to visit Rome from 9 to 12 Jan to meet with Pope Francis, Italy's President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

It would have been the final trip of his presidency.

Christal Hayes
Reporting from Los Angeles

Image source, Christal Hayes

Much of the heart of Hollywood is blanketed in thick smoke. You can barely see the tops of the towering palm trees that line streets here.

It’s utter chaos on the streets near the fire. People are using sweatshirts to cover their faces so they can breathe. Many are carrying bags and suitcases looking for a place to go. Some are wearing pyjamas, clearly taken by surprise.

Many of the roads near the blaze - including the iconic Hollywood Boulevard, which includes the Hollywood Walk of Fame - are gridlocked with traffic.

Some are even driving on the wrong side of the road to escape.

The inferno could be seen from nearby freeways, lighting up the dark with bright red hues.

On the outskirts of the legendary city though, it’s as though nothing is happening. People are eating dinner, shopping and going about their evenings.

A new brush fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills, near Runyon Canyon, on Wednesday evening. Here's a look at how the blaze has been spreading.

The Los Angeles Fire Department says it has grown to at least 20 acres.

The latest mandatory evacuation zone caused by a new fire in the Hollywood Hills is affecting several famous landmarks.

The Dolby Theatre, where the Academy Awards ceremony is held, is in the evacuation zone, as is as the Hollywood Bowl outdoor amphitheatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The zone is between the 101 Freeway on the east and Laurel Canyon on the west, Mulholland Drive on the north and Hollywood Boulevard on the south.

It's also affecting Runyon Canyon, an area popular with hikers and outdoor enthusiasts.

Image source, Getty Images

There are at least six fires raging in Los Angeles and its neighbouring Ventura County at the moment:

• Palisades: This is the first fire to erupt on Tuesday. It has scorched a sizable part of land in the Los Angeles, covering nearly 16,000 acres, including Pacific Palisades
• Eaton: This is the fire that has struck the northern part of Los Angeles country. Authorities said earlier that it has now burned 10,600 acres with 0% containment
• Hurst: This is located just north of San Fernando. It began burning on Tuesday night and has grown to 700 acres
• Woodley: This fire broke out on Wednesday and is the only one to have decreased in size throughout the day
• Olivas: A fifth fire erupted in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles, and is currently burning about 11 acres of land
• Hollywood Hills: A sixth fire broke out Wednesday evening in Hollywood Hills, near Runyon Canyon. It has grown to about 20 acres in less than an hour, and is officially being called the Sunset Fire by the LA Fire Department

At least 311,000 homes and businesses in southern California have lost electricity, according to the latest estimates from Poweroutages.us.

Earlier today, officials in Pasadena said that issues with power hampered their ability to fight the deadly Eaton fire. That is in addition to the issues with water pressure that have left some fire hydrants dry.

Image source, Getty Images

The nominations announcement for the upcoming Oscars will be postponed from 17 January to 19 January, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has said.

The voting period, which opened on 8 January, will also be extended by two more days to close on 14 January.

"We want to offer our deepest condolences to those who have been impacted by the devastating fires across southern California," the academy told its members in the letter.

"So many of our members and industry colleagues live and work in the Los Angeles area, and we are thinking of you."

The fire in the Hollywood Hills that broke less than one hour ago is officially being called the Sunset Fire by the LA Fire Department.

It's current size is approximately 10 acres, according to the LAFD.

It is burning in the area between Runyon Canyon and Wattles Park, and has triggered more mandatory evacuations.

Parts of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Mulholland Drive, all the way south to Hollywood Boulevard - a route dotted with celebrity homes - are now in the evacuation zone.

Image source, Getty Images

Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal are among the celebrities who have lost their homes in the wildfires.

In an Instagram post, Hilton wrote: "Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in Malibu burn to the ground on live TV is something no one should ever have to experience.

"This home is where we built so many precious memories... My heart and prayers are going out to every family affected by this fires."

Actor Billy Crystal told the CNN that his family is "heartbroken" by the loss of their home. "Words cannot describe the enormity of the devastation we are witnessing and experiencing," he said.

Actor Cameron Mathison also shared a clip of his home being reduced to smouldering ruins.

"We are safe. But this is what's left of our beautiful home," he wrote.

"Our home where our kids were raised and where they wanted to raise their own someday."

Earlier today, singer-songwriter Diane Warren posted a picture of the beachfront near her house, adding that the property she's had for close to three decades was lost in the fire.

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, Reuters

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.