The Palisades fire now threatens to spread to the posh Brentwood area west of Los Angeles.
At least 16 people have been killed in the Los Angeles wildfires.
The largest of the fires is on the verge of spreading to one of the city’s most elite areas. Firefighters are fighting all-out to stop the threat.
According to the BBC, the Palisades fire on the northwest edge of the city has spread to another 1,000 acres in 24 hours, with many more homes engulfed in the fire. The fire is now threatening to spread to the posh Brentwood area west of Los Angeles.
Firefighters are spraying water and fire retardant on the burning hills from aerial vehicles to prevent the fire from spreading.
Six wildfires have been raging across Los Angeles County since Tuesday. At least 16 people have died as of Saturday, according to the Washington Post and other media outlets.
Eleven of those who died Saturday in the Eaton fire and five in the Palisades fire, the Los Angeles County Autopsy Officer’s Office said Saturday evening.
Fire officials say 12,000 homes and structures have been damaged or destroyed so far in the six fires. At least 13 people are missing.
The death toll is expected to rise further if firefighters can start a house-to-house search.
California Fire Department official Todd Hopkins said at a news conference that the Palisades fire was contained up to 11 percent but it has burned more than 22,000 acres.
Hopkins said the Palisades fire threatened to spread to the Brentwood area after spreading to the Mandavelle Canyon area. It is also moving inch by inch towards the North-South 405 highway.
Many celebrities live in Brentwood, an elite area of Los Angeles. Film actor Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of them.
Residents in several areas of Brentwood have been ordered to evacuate as the fire approaches. The area also includes the Getty Center, a museum located atop the hill. There are 125,000 artworks in this museum. These works include works by world-famous painters such as Van Gogh, Rembra, Rubens, Moîne and Dega. But to this day, the Getty Center building remains intact.
More than 14,000 people were burned in the second major fire, Eton. Firefighters were able to contain 15 percent of the fire. And they have almost brought two small fires, Kenneth and Hearst, under control.
About 153,000 Los Angeles residents have been ordered to leave the area, while another 166,000 have been warned they may have to leave.
The National Weather Service warned that strong winds could blow over Santa Ana Los Angeles from Saturday night to Sunday morning, then again from Monday night to Tuesday morning. At this time, continuous wind speeds can be 30 kilometers per hour, which can blow at a speed of 70 miles per hour in the form of gusts.
It is feared that the fire situation may become more delicate if such strong winds are blowing in extremely dry weather.
California’s seven neighboring states and U.S. neighbors Canada and Mexico have sent equipment and firefighters to fight the fires.