Thousands of acres on fire in LA

Wildfires are raging in several areas of Los Angeles, with high winds and extremely dry conditions fuelling their progress across thousands of acres of land.

Firefighters are so far unable to contain them, with one fire official telling the BBC on Thursday that they are still rapidly expanding and “zero progress” has been made in containing them.

The largest fire, in the Pacific Palisades area where many celebrities live, is the most destructive fire in the history of Los Angeles. More than 1,000 buildings have already been destroyed.

On Wednesday, a fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills area, overlooking the world-famous Hollywood.

It’s a rapidly changing situation – these maps and pictures chart how the fires have spread, where they are located and what they look like from space.

Seven fires are currently being tackled.

The Palisades fire was first reported at 10:30 (18:30 GMT) on Tuesday, and grew in just 20 minutes from a blaze of 20 acres to more than 200 acres, and by Wednesday night was approaching 16,000 acres. At least 30,000 people have so far been ordered to leave their homes.

The Eaton fire grew to cover 1,000 acres within the first six hours of breaking out. It started in Altadena in the hills above Pasadena at around 18:30 local time on Tuesday. By Wednesday night, five deaths had been reported and it had spread to more than 10,000 acres.

The Hurst fire is located just north of San Fernando. It began burning on Tuesday at around 22:10 local time, growing to 850 acres, according to local officials. It has triggered evacuation orders in neighbouring Santa Clarita.

The Woodley fire broke out in Woodley Park at approximately 06:15 local time on Wednesday. The LA Fire Department (LAFD) says it has now been contained.

A Olivas fire erupted in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles, and was burning across about 11 acres of land, though has also now been contained.

The Lidia fire broke out at around 14:00 on Wednesday in the mountainous Acton area north of Los Angeles, and grew to cover almost 350 acres. As of 21:00, it had been 40% contained.

The Sunset fire broke out at around 18:00 in the Hollywood Hills, a residential neighbourhood overlooking the historic Hollywood area of the city. It currently covers around 50 acres and is 0% contained. A mandatory evacuation order is in place.

The map above shows how rapidly the Palisades fire spread, intensifying in a matter of hours. At just after 14:00 on Tuesday it covered 772 acres and within four hours it had expanded approximately to its current size.

Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate, as more than 1,400 firefighters try to tackle the blaze.

To give an idea of the size of the Palisades fire, we have superimposed it on to maps of New York and London.

As you can see, it is comparable in size with the central area of UK’s capital, or with large areas of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Another indication of the scale of the Palisades fire comes from Nasa’s Earth Observatory.

The images captured on Tuesday show a huge plume of smoke emanating from California and drifting out to sea.

The Palisades fire is not the only one to have a devastating effect on neighbourhoods of Los Angeles.

Satellite images show the extent of the destruction caused by the Eaton fire in the neighbourhood of Altadena.

The images below show the Jewish Temple in Pasadena before and during the Eaton fire.

The Jewish Temple and Centre’s website says it has been in use since 1941 and has a congregation of more than 400 families.