LA fires live updates: at least seven deaths as California wildfires rage and crews battle new fire | California wildfires

In Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood, street after street is laden with carnage that tells part of the story of the ferocious firestorm that swept through the area over the last two days.

Buckled trees and telephone poles are strewn across roads, their piled branches and hanging wires a testimony to the winds that whipped the flames. Intersections are flooded with water, even after the loss of water pressure hampered efforts during the harrowing firefight. Mansions lining the yellow beaches hollowed out, homes in the neighborhoods’ canyons reduced to dust.

Helen Livingstone

Seven people were killed, more than 10,000 structures destroyed and at least 180,000 residents ordered to evacuate in California as fast-moving wildfires burned around Los Angeles, encircling the city.

On Tuesday, hurricane-force winds blew embers through the air, igniting block after block and destroying an area of land about 45 square miles (117 sq km) over the following days. As of late Thursday, five fires were still raging around Los Angeles, three of them completely uncontrolled.

Satellite images showed the scale of the destruction from the Pacific Palisades fire, which left the coastline along the famous Malibu neighbourhood scorched black and buildings along the water burned to the ground.

Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of the wildfires in California, where some of the worst blazes in the region’s history have ravaged homes and reduced entire neighbourhoods to ash. I’m Petra Stock.

It’s approaching 8pm in Los Angeles and here is a recap of what you need to know.

There are five wildfires currently raging in Los Angeles county, they include:

• The Palisades fire, at 19,978 acres and 6% containment

• The Eaton fire, at 13,690 acres and 0% containment

• The Kenneth fire, at 960 acres and 0% containment

• The Hurst fire, at 671 acres and 10% containment

• The Lidia fire, at 348 acres and 60% containment

As we settle in for the third night since wildfires broke out in southern California, here are the top developments of the day:

• Seven people have died, and more than 10,000 structures have burned, in the Palisades and Eaton fires. Five deaths have been confirmed in the Eaton fire and two in the Palisades. The Palisades fire, which had remained 0% contained since it broke out Tuesday, was 6% contained by 6pm Thursday.

• A new fire, now called the Kenneth fire, sparked around 3:34pm and quickly ballooned to 960 acres.

• President Joe Biden has announced that the federal government would pay for 100% of the firefighting needs for the next 180 days.

• Law enforcement officials are working to issue a curfew for affected burn zones in Los Angeles, in order to combat looting, though it is unclear when it will go into effect.

• Vice-president Kamala Harris canceled a trip to Singapore, Bahrain and Germany shortly after President Biden canceled a trip to Italy in order to more closely monitor the fires.

• The California prison system has now deployed nearly 800 incarcerated firefighters to fight the devastating blazes.