Dangerously high winds are expected to return to Los Angeles later, jeopardising efforts to contain two massive wildfires that have levelled whole neighbourhoods, claimed the lives of at least two dozen people and burned an area the size of Washington, DC.
Dry Santa Ana winds of up to 80 to112kph are forecast to resume later and persist through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service, which issued a "particularly dangerous situation" red flag warning, the agency's most serious fire warning.
Fire crews were able to keep the fires from spreading overnight and are preparing for increased winds in the days ahead, officials said at a press conference this morning.
"We are not in the clear," Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said.
Officials said the state was pre-positioning firefighting crews in vulnerable areas, including around the Palisades and Eaton fires, the two largest blazes burning on either side of Los Angeles. More than 8,500 firefighting personnel are assigned to those two fires.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said firefighters were "absolutely better prepared" for extreme winds this week, after the fires grew rapidly last week following similar dire warnings from forecasters.
There are more personnel on the ground and additional firefighting aircraft in the air now, he said, though he acknowledged that nothing was guaranteed.
"We're never sure that we're going to be able to catch the next fire and keep it small," he said. "They said 70-mile-an-hour winds. It's going to be very difficult to contain that fire."
At least 24 people have died since the fires began last Tuesday, and more than two dozen people are reported missing, authorities said. The fires have destroyed or damaged more than12,000 structures.
Deputies are finding human remains every day as they search through burned-out parts of Altadena, where the Eaton fire first ignited, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
"It is a very grim task," Mr Luna said, adding that he expected the confirmed death toll to rise in the days ahead.
The blazes have reduced entire neighbourhoods to smouldering ruins, leaving an apocalyptic landscape. California Governor Gavin Newsom has said the firestorm could rank as the most devastating natural disaster in US history. Private forecaster AccuWeather has estimated the damage and economic loss at $135 billion to $150 billion.
Hundreds of volunteers gathered at the Santa Anita Park racetrack yesterday in Arcadia, close to the Eaton Fire, hauling in boxes of food, clothing and diapers for victims.
High winds threaten progress
The return of high winds threatens the hard-won progress that crews have made in containing the fires.
Over the weekend, aerial and land-based firefighters managed to stop the Palisades Fire as it encroached on the upscale Brentwood section and advanced toward the populous San Fernando Valley in the north.
That fire on the western side of the metropolis has consumed 23,713 acres and stood at 14% contained, a figure representing the percentage of the fire's perimeter that firefighters have under control.
The Eaton Fire east of Los Angeles has scorched 14,117 acres, but firefighters increased the containment to 33%.
North of the city, the Hurst Fire was 89% contained, and three other fires were now 100% contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) reported.
Angelenos, even far from the fires, were urged to wear N95 masks when outside due to the smoke.
Authorities have arrested dozens of people for violating curfews and evacuation orders, for burglary and shoplifting, for flying unauthorised drones and in at least one case for impersonating a firefighter, officials said.
Watch: Scale of destruction as LA 'still a city on fire'
Firefighters make progress in battle to contain LA fires
The Oscar nominations were postponed for a second time and will now be announced on 23 January, six days later than originally scheduled, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences said. The Dolby Theater, where the awards will be presented on 2 March, was temporarily within an evacuation zone last week.
President Joe Biden issued a statement expressing sympathy for the victims. "I am being frequently briefed on intensive efforts to suppress the wildfires across Los Angeles, and have directed our team to respond promptly to any request for additional federal firefighting assistance," he added.
City on alert
In anticipation of high winds returning later today, officials have warned the entire Los Angeles County population of nearly 10 million to be ready to evacuate.
As of this morning, more than 92,000 people in Los Angeles County were under an order to evacuate - down from a previous high of more than 150,000 - while another 89,000 faced evacuation warnings.
At a Pasadena town hall yesterday, state and local officials told residents it still wasn't safe to return to their fire-damaged homes, even as containment of the fire improves.
In addition to lingering hot spots, downed power lines and contaminated water supplies, officials warned residents that clearing ash and other household debris could expose them to hazardous materials such as lead, arsenic and asbestos.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told MSNBC that residents out of harm's way can begin applying for federal assistance.
Firefighters from seven states, Canada and Mexico have converged on the Los Angeles area.
The Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena has been transformed into a base camp for fire trucks and firefighters from all over California and the West to fight the nearby Eaton fire.
In Altadena on the edge of the Eaton Fire, Tristin Perez said he never left his home, defying police orders to evacuate as the fire raced down the hillside.
Instead, Mr Perez insisted on trying to save his property and his neighbours' homes.
"Your front yard is on fire, palm trees lit up – it looked like something out of a movie," Mr Perez told Reuters in an interview in his driveway. "I did everything I could to stop the line and save my house, help save their houses."
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President-elect Donald Trump has accused California officials of incompetence.
"This is one of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Country. They just can't put out the fires. What's wrong with them?" Mr Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
A heroic firefighting operation that has operated 24/7 since the first flames erupted was bolstered with the arrival of crews from Mexico.
They join teams from all over California and across the western United States who have come to help out.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky even offered to send 150 personnel to California from his war-ravaged country.
"The situation there is extremely difficult, and Ukrainians can help Americans save lives," he wrote on social media.
A huge investigation by federal and local authorities was underway to determine what caused the blazes.
While the ignition of a wildfire can be deliberate, they are often natural, and a vital part of an environment's life cycle.
But urban sprawl puts people more frequently in harm's way, and the changing climate - supercharged by humanity's unchecked use of fossil fuels - is exacerbating the conditions that give rise to destructive blazes.
