At least 11 people have died as flames ripped through neighborhoods and razed thousands of homes this week in a disaster that US President Joe Biden likened to a “war scene.”
“I lost everything. My house burned down and I lost everything,“ Hester Callul, who reached a shelter after fleeing her Altadena home, told AFP.
A nighttime curfew has been imposed in evacuated areas, and dozens of arrests made.
The five separate fires have so far burned more than 35,000 acres (14,000 hectares), California's fire agency reported.
- 'Devastating' -
The biggest of the blazes has burned down more than 20,000 acres of the upscale Pacific Palisades and Malibu neighborhoods, where firefighters said they were starting to get the fire under control.
“Braveheart” actor Mel Gibson was the latest celebrity to reveal his Malibu home had burned down, telling NewsNation the loss was “devastating.”
Fire chief Jason Schillinger said Friday that “significant progress” had been made in quelling the blaze.
But emergency chiefs warned the situation is “still very dangerous” and the reprieve from intense gusts that spread embers will not last.
- 'Need answers' -
Authorities have said it was too early to know the cause of the blazes, but criticism has mounted of officials' preparedness and response.
“We need answers to how that happened,“ he wrote in an open letter.
Meanwhile, emergency managers apologized Friday after false evacuation alerts were erroneously sent to millions of mobile phones, sparking panic.
And aviation authorities were investigating who had piloted an illegal drone that struck a water-dropping aircraft, punching a fist-sized hole in the plane and taking it out of action.
Biden also took a veiled swipe at incoming president Donald Trump, who has spread misinformation over the flames that has then been amplified on social media.
Wildfires occur naturally, but scientists say human-caused climate change is altering weather and changing the dynamics of the blazes.
The fires could be the costliest ever recorded, with AccuWeather estimating total damage and loss between $135 billion and $150 billion.
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