Image source, Reuters

We do not as yet know the exact cause of the wildfires, but experts have pointed to a combination of an exceptionally dry period and high winds as being major causes of the scale of the devastation this week.

Downtown Los Angeles has seen only 4mm (0.16 inches) of rain since October, leaving much of the city even drier than normal.

The tinderbox conditions have combined with strong offshore gusts known as the Santa Ana winds, which flow east to west through southern California's mountains, to stoke the flames and create the ideal conditions for wildfires.

Although wind speeds were expected to ease slightly later Friday into Saturday, forecasters warn they would will pick up again on Sunday and into Monday.

US President Joe Biden said on Friday that while firefighters were "able to partially prevent" some of the fires from spreading, winds would remain a threat until early next week.

Investigations into what initially sparked the fires are continuing.

LA District Attorney Nathan Hochman has said the focus of law enforcement is currently on saving lives and homes and assisting firefighters, but they will eventually turn towards investigating the what caused them.

Justin Rowlatt
Climate editor

Last year was the hottest year ever recorded, according to a number of climate monitoring organisations around the world.

That should be worrying enough, but what’s particularly concerning is that the last two years were warmer than many climate scientists expected - and they aren’t sure why.

The answer may lie in the clouds – literally.

In recent years there have been fewer of the low-level clouds that reflect the sun’s heat back into space. But why that is and whether it is a long-term trend isn’t clear.

“Clouds are one of the biggest uncertainties in our climate models”, University of California climate scientist Zeke Hausfather tells me.

He says if the reduction in cloud cover we are seeing is being caused by higher temperatures it may mean the climate is more sensitive to our emissions than we had assumed.

“That would mean that we might be in store for considerably more warming this decade than we previously thought”, warns Hausfather.

Image source, Reuters

The wildfires still burning across Los Angeles are believed to have left thousands of people without a home to return to.

Several of the fire have encroached - or entirely destroyed - some of the city's most exclusive neighbourhoods, the type of enclaves where a number of A-list celebrities have made this homes.

Here are some of the names who have been impacted:

Jeff Bridges: The Crazy Heart and Big Lebowski actor lost the family home he inherited from his parents. The Malibu property was gutted by the Palisades Fire.

Sir Anthony Hopkins: The Welsh Oscar-winning actor reportedly lost his home in the Palisades fire. The Silence of the Lambs star did not directly confirm it in a statement, but referenced a joint "struggle to heal from the devastation of these fires".

Paris Hilton: The reality TV star shared a video of the smouldering ruins of her Malibu home, which was entirely gutted by fire.

Image source, Instagram/Reuters

Julia Louis-Dreyfus: The sitcom icon reportedly lost her homes in the Palisades fire. While she has not commented publicly, US outlets reported that images confirmed the home had burned to the ground, despite neighbouring properties appearing untouched.

Mel Gibson: The Braveheart and Mad Max actor confirmed his Malibu property had been "completely toasted" while he was in Texas recording an appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast.

Billy Crystal: The Oscar winner confirmed the home where had "raised our children and grandchildren" was destroyed. A statement went on: "Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can't be taken away."

Peter Bowes
Reporting from Los Angeles

It's extremely difficult - one moment there's a glimmer of hope in terms of getting these fires under control.

Then, there's the containment percentages, these are the numbers that everyone across the city is looking out for constantly, but those numbers are still very, very low.

There's two big fires - and of particular concern is one tearing through the Pacific Palisades, which is still spreading.

It's moving toward other densely populated areas, Brentwood to the west of LA and the the sprawling San Fernando Valley.

I'm just north of there and there have been fires close to here, to the east and west as well.

It's an extraordinary situation where you have all of these infernos right across this great, sprawling city at the same time.

That's a big part of the problem, as resources are stretched to the limit and some political repercussions are beginning to start.

There's a tremendous amount of anger and frustration at the way in which the wildfires have been dealt with.

Equally, I think a lot of people are understanding the firefighters themselves are being stretched to the absolute limit.

It's difficult to imagine a catastrophe on this scale. I've been here for nearly 30 years and lived through fires, but they were single incidents, now we're dealing with multiple fires.

Talk about it in the past tense now - the Palisades was a lovely, village-like suburb of LA. It was just a beautiful place.

Of the least six fires raging across Los Angeles, two stand out for their sheer size - Palisades and Eaton.

Here's what we know about them:

Palisades

It started around 10:30 local time (18:30 GMT) on 7 January. So far, Palisades covers more than 21,000 acres - killing two people and injuring three others.

It is only 8% contained with a team of more than 3,700 working against it.

Palisades has destroyed more than 5,000 structures in Malibu and west LA so far.

Just hours ago, another evacuation order was introduced for the area, into Brentwood and Encino, as it continues to spread.

Eaton

This started in the early evening of the 7 January and is smaller than the Palisades Fire, but Eaton is still causing significant damage in the northeast of the city.

It is spreading over more than 14,000 acres, with five confirmed fatalities and five people injured.

More than 7,000 structures are thought to be damaged, while almost 3,000 fire personnel have been tasked with battling Eaton's spread.

Several evacuation warnings are in place over the fire, which is spreading towards the densely populated area of Pasadena.

Read more about the what a wildfire being "contained" means here.

Official updates from firefighters on the six blazes ripping through Los Angeles often describe a fire as "contained" by a particular percentage - but what does this mean?

In brief, containment describes the progress firefighters make in controlling the spread of the flames.

It's often listed as a percentage - for example the most recent CalFire update on the massive Palisades Fire has it as 8% contained, with the much-smaller Lidia Fire at 98%.

In the larger blaze's case, this means fire crews have established barriers around just 8% of the fire's perimeter.

Natural barriers include roads, rivers and oceans. Firefighters can also create barriers using equipment such as bulldozers, hoses and shovels to remove vegetation down to the bare soil, meaning there is nothing for the fire to burn.

A fire being 100% contained doesn't mean it has been extinguished, but rather that the flames have been fully encircled and the spread has been effectively stopped.

Image source, EPA

Animal welfare groups across Los Angeles are helping take care of pets and wild animals impacted by the wildfires.

The LA branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (spacLA) is currently housing pets of people who have been forced to flee their homes, with staff providing food and shelter for pets.

"This is clearly not something that will be resolved in a day, a week," Ana Bustilloz from spacLA told NBC News.

In a post on Instagram, the president of Pasadena Humane Dia DuVernet says this is "a human and animal tragedy on an unimaginable scale".

Her organisation has treated animals suffering from smoke inhalation, singed paws, burns and dehydration. DuVernet told US media that the variety of animals being brought in ranged from cats, dogs and birds, to goats and even a pony.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Reality star Paris Hilton has launched an emergency fund to support people displaced by the wildfires, after she lost her own Malibu home to the flames.

In a post on X, she says "while I’ve lost my Malibu home, my thoughts are with the countless families who have lost so much more—their homes, cherished keepsakes, the communities they loved, and their sense of stability."

The fund, established through her non-profit organisation 11:11 Media Impact, started off with a $100k (£81k) donation from Hilton herself.

Hilton says she will be matching additional funds raised up to $100,000.

The donations will provide cash assistance, short-term housing and hotels, essentials and supplies and support animal shelters, she adds.

On Thursday, the star revealed she found out her home was lost when she was watching the news and saw it on fire, and says "it feels like my heart has shattered into a million pieces."

Image source, Getty Images

We are getting images to our London newsroom showing firefighters working tirelessly through the night as they attempt to put out the half dozen fires that continue to rage in the Los Angeles area.

As fire trucks drive through the streets, you can see some of the homes still decorated with Christmas lights as fires blaze in the background.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Across LA, local authorities say more than 144,000 people are under evacuation orders.

There are currently six fires burning across the city, all with separate evacuation orders and warnings.

Earlier, a mandatory evacuation warning was implemented for the Palisades Fire for areas to the east of where it is burning. Included in the warnings are the suburbs of Brentwood and Encino.

Also under warnings are the the exclusive Calabasas area, home to the Kardashians, and parts of Malibu.

Currently, there are 37 evacuation orders and 28 warnings related to the Palisades Fire.

The second largest fire, the Eaton Fire, has 54 evacuation orders and 36 warnings.

Many of the warnings and orders lay to the south of the Eaton fire, near Pasadena.

The Hurst, Kenneth, Lidia and Archer fires have no evacuation warnings.

Image source, Getty Images

Students at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have been told to get ready for a possible evacuation.

"This is NOT an evacuation alert," the university says in a statement, but adds that "an evacuation warning has been issued to a zone adjacent to UCLA due to the Palisades fire".

The university says students on campus should "remain vigilant and be ready to evacuate, should the alert be extended to our campus".

The UCLA campus is close to an area of the Palisades fire where a new mandatory evacuation order was issued earlier today.

The order was extended to cover parts of the Interstate 405 freeway and the Encino Reservoir.

As we've been reporting, one man who lost his home in a fire in Malibu in 1993 stayed to protect his home this time around.

That fire was also stoked by the Santa Ana winds - and the same weather phenomenon is making the current fires hard to contain.

The 1993 Malibu incident was described by the New York Times as "a fierce and fast-moving wall of fire", that spanned from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific coast.

"The smoky orange glow of flames illuminated the Malibu oceanfront, an enduring symbol of the Southern California lifestyle," the LA Times wrote at the time.

Thousands evacuated to escape the Malibu fires gridlocking the Pacific Coast Highway. The fire burnt at least 13,000 acres.

LA resident Ricard Weintraub says he stayed to protect his home from the fire - but it has suffered "tremendous damage."

He lost his Malibu home during the 1993 fires, he says, and this time he "decided against advice to stay and to fight the fire."

He used three hoses to wet the ground and foliage around him. It was very hot, and even "painful" as embers swirled around him.

"I'm not saying I did the smartest thing in the world, but at the end of the day our home is still standing," he adds. "Where we go from here, I'm not sure."

Weintraub says his family has evacuated to four separate locations.

"Our neighbours [homes] have been eviscerated, it's really devastating to see generations of people's lives and livelihoods completely wiped out."

Fire crews continue to battle six blazes that have torn through Los Angeles, leaving thousands without homes and power.

The Palisades Fire, which began on Tuesday morning, remains the largest of the blazes and covers an area of more than 21,500 acres between Santa Monica and Malibu.

The Eaton Fire, north of Pasadena, is the second largest, scorching more than 14,000 acres.

The four other fires are Kenneth, Lidia, Hurst, and Archer. Those fires are significantly smaller, covering a total of approximately 2,200 acres combined.

People in LA are harnessing the power of social media app TikTok to gain and distribute donations to people who have lost their homes.

Hundreds of items now sit in a California park, allowing people to come and take what they need.

Image source, Getty Images

Oscar-winning actor Sir Anthony Hopkins' home is among the thousands destroyed by the Palisades fire, it has been reported.

The star, from Port Talbot, posted a message on Instagram saying: "the only thing we take with us is the love we give".

Reality star Paris Hilton, When Harry Met Sally actor Billy Crystal, Oscar-winning songwriter Diane Warren, The Princess Bride star Cary Elwes, presenter Ricki Lake and The Hills stars Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag are also among the celebrities who have lost their homes.

When the fires destroyed Peter Mitchell's home, it took his handiwork with it.

"It was all lined with cabinets and various pieces of furniture" that he built from scratch, Mitchell tells the BBC.

"I didn't do it as a profession. I did it because I really enjoyed it."

Searching through the remnants of his old tools - including antique hand tools - Mitchell says material things can be replaced.

"As much as I love this saw and I spent hours making cool stuff on it. It can be replaced. It's now in Valhalla."

Nearby, his neighbour Tavia Weinmann sifted through charred coins to find two pearls belonging to her mother's necklace.

Residents in the zip code 90272 and the area north of San Vicente Boulevard have been issued a "Do Not Drink" notice, as the water is "not safe."

The notice says they shouldn't drink or cook with tap water, and to limit the use of hot water until it is lifted.

This is because of the potential of "fire-related contaminants that may have entered the water system," a statement reads.

Bottled water will be distributed rom Westwood Recreation Centre and next to the Brentwood Country Club.

The notice replaced a boil water notice issued on Wednesday.

David Willis
reporting from Los Angeles

In Altadena, they had been hoping for a break, provided by a lull in those very high winds.

That break only really exists until Monday night, when they're expected to return with a vengeance.

Within the last couple of hours, the biggest fire, which is in the Pacific Palisades, took a turn and is now heading towards the San Fernando valley and the densely populated cities of Encino and Tarzana.

It's also heading towards the upscale city of Brentwood, which is home to, amongst other people, US Vice President Kamala Harris.

That is a very bad sign if firefighters fail to get it under control. There was a lot of hope today that they would be able to do so and make use of this break in the weather, by virtue of the water-dropping planes that have been brought in.

It has clearly made something of a difference, but this was a crucial period and that turn of events isn't what the firefighters had been hoping for.

Behind me are the burnt out cars and homes are National Guard officers - hundreds of whom have been drafted in here over the course of the last 24 hours to protect sites such as this from looters.

It's extraordinary to think that given the heartbreak that some people here have experience, that they could then eventually return to their homes to find that some of their most valuable possessions that remain have been stolen.

Canada is sending firefighters and specialist equipment - including waterbombers and airtankers - to California to bolster local firefighting efforts.

The Canadian government says it's "actively engaged in discussions" with the various US agencies leading LA's emergency response.

A number of Canadian agencies are on standby to send crew and equipment, including Canada's armed forces and national guard, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre and Natural Resources Canada.

• Two CL-415 skimmer airtankers from Quebec are on their way to Los Angeles along with up to 40 firefighters from Alberta
• Two waterbombers and up to 200 personnel, including wildland and urban firefighters from Ontario are on standby to help
• British Columbia is sending a team of senior technical staff to LA

Sean Peterson from the US National Interagency Coordination Center, which coordinates firefighting resources, told the Washington Post that Canadian fire crews could arrive as soon as Monday.

Image source, EPA