A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
The scale of the destruction, across diverse communities of every socioeconomic status, is already without precedent. The fires have put 360,000 people under mandatory evacuation orders, federal officials said, and have scorched more than 30,000 acres, equivalent to nearly 23,000 football fields.
The Palisades fire appears to have destroyed more than 5,000 homes, businesses and other structures, according to fire officials who conducted aerial surveys of the region. The Eaton fire may have destroyed 4,000 to 5,000 structures, officials said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert G. Luna said he expected the death toll to rise, noting that some areas "look like a bomb was dropped in them."
The Palisades fire, which is the largest and has burned more than 17,000 hilly acres along the coast between Santa Monica and Malibu, remains unchecked and is challenging crews with its "extreme fire behavior," Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin M. Crowley said. The fire already ranks as "one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles," she said.
The Eaton fire, on the opposite end of the Los Angeles basin in the Pasadena area, had reached 13,690 acres by Thursday afternoon, up from 10,600 acres earlier in the day, and had killed at least five people, officials said. That fire has ravaged Altadena, a community in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains known for its historically Black neighborhoods and bohemian history, where hundreds of homes have been destroyed.
The blaze was now "making a run" toward the peak of Mount Wilson and the Mount Wilson Observatory, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said Thursday. More than 1,500 firefighters were battling the blaze, he said.
President Joe Biden said the federal government would pay 100% of the firefighting needs for the next 180 days and would send 400 additional firefighters and more than 30 firefighting helicopters and planes.
"We are doing literally everything we can at a federal level," Biden said.
Officials reported some glimmers of progress. The hurricane-force winds that had fanned the fires earlier in the week had subsided, allowing firefighting aircraft that had been grounded to join the fight. Water-supply problems that had left some fire hydrants dry also seemed to be easing, officials said.
There were no overnight reports of water-supply issues at the Palisades fire, according to Kenichi Haskett, an official with the Los Angeles County Fire Department. He said trucks were transporting water to the site to help address shortages.
Mark Pestrella, director of Los Angeles County Public Works, said reservoirs were full and at the ready to help firefighters. And some officials expressed a cautious optimism that the worst could be over.
"While we are still facing significant threats, I am hopeful that the tide is turning," said Kathryn Barger, the chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
But the forecast points to more dangers on the horizon. Todd Hall, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Los Angeles, said that although wind was calmer Thursday, it could pick up again Friday and over the weekend. Strong winds are also possible Monday night into Tuesday, with gusts possibly reaching 80 mph, he said.
More than 100,000 residents have been displaced and many are reeling from the devastation -- famous and everyday Angelenos alike. Billy Crystal said the Palisades fire had destroyed the home he and his wife, Janice, had lived in since 1979, and Paris Hilton said she had seen her home in Malibu burn on live television.
In Altadena, home to many working- and middle-class families, Godwin Amafa, 69, said he was using a hose to try to keep his neighbor's house from burning when his home suddenly caught fire.
"The sheriff came through and said, 'You have to go or you die,'" he said. He and his wife evacuated in a panic and then returned to the property Wednesday. Their house was gone, burned to the ground.
"All I have left is my clothes and my truck, that's it," Amafa said. He pointed to his truck's license plate holder, which read Beautiful Altadena. "Beautiful Altadena?" he said. "What's beautiful about it anymore?"
Michele Zack, a historian and writer who has lived in the neighborhood for 40 years, said she and her husband had evacuated and were safe, but that their home, which they painstakingly restored over decades, had been destroyed.
"I didn't really think our house would burn," she said, noting that it was at a lower elevation. "We packed up and left, but didn't pack all the right things. We keep thinking of new things we lost. Why didn't I bring out the family silver?"
Even in areas untouched by fire, smoke has choked the skies and the rhythms of daily life have been disrupted. Major sporting events have been postponed and cultural life has been put on hold, with musicals and shows canceled and museums such as the Getty Center, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Broad closed to the public. At least 11 school districts in Los Angeles County, including the largest one, the Los Angeles Unified School District, remained closed Thursday, and some will stay closed Friday.
The rapid spread of the fires has led to criticism of Bass, who was in Ghana for the country's inauguration of its new president when the blazes broke out. At a news conference with other officials Thursday, she got a tough first question from a CBS News reporter, who asked, "What explains this lack of preparation and rapid response?"