Fierce winds on Wednesday were hindering firefighting operations and fueling the fires, which have burned unimpeded since they began the day before.
A lack of water also hampered efforts, particularly in Pacific Palisades, an upscale coastal enclave where a wildfire has consumed nearly 4900 hectares.
🔥 CAL FIRE is battling multiple wildfires across Southern California.— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) Just eight days into 2025, there have been more than 55 wildfires. Here is a summary of the major fires burning in Southern California, including the #PalisadesFire and #EatonFire pic.twitter.com/JmOlMHKOIwJanuary 8, 2025
 More than 1000 structures have been destroyed, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Another blaze, the Eaton fire, had grown to more than 800 hectares as it burned 50km inland in Altadena, near Pasadena.Â
Two fatalities were reported there although officials said they did not have further details.
A firefighter battles the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California. (AP PHOTO)
The Hurst fire, in Sylmar in the San Fernando Valley northwest of Los Angeles, had exceeded 200 hectares.Â
All three fires were uncontained, officials said.
A "high number" of significant injuries had occurred among residents who did not heed evacuation orders, Marrone said.
Officials warned that the gusty winds were forecast to persist throughout the day.
"We are absolutely not out of danger yet, with the strong winds that continue to push through the city and the county today," Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristen Crowley said.
The winds have made it impossible to offer aerial support for firefighting operations, officials said, putting municipal water systems under immense strain.Â
Residents were urged to conserve water use.
A business burns to the ground in the Altadena section of Pasadena, California. (AP PHOTO)
The skies above Los Angeles glowed red and were blanketed by thick smoke as the sun rose on Wednesday.
As the flames spread and residents began leaving after the fires broke out on Tuesday, roads were so jammed that some people abandoned their vehicles to escape the fire.Â
Emergency responders were going door to door to tell people to leave.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Tuesday.
President Joe Biden planned to visit a Santa Monica fire station for a briefing from fire officials on Wednesday, the White House said.
Approximately 100 of the 1000 public schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District were shut down, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho told the press conference.
Pacific Palisades resident Cindy Festa said that as she left, fires were "this close to the cars," demonstrating with her thumb and forefinger.
"People left their cars on Palisades Drive. Burning up the hillside. The palm trees - everything is going," Festa said from her car.
Pacific Palisades is one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in the country.Â
A typical home was valued at $US3.7 million ($A6 million) as of the end of 2023, according to Zillow, more than all but four other postal codes in the United States.
Those fleeing the wildfires included Hollywood celebrities such as Jamie Lee Curtis, Mandy Moore and Mark Hamill.
In the Pasadena area, the Eaton fire engulfed homes, a synagogue and a McDonald's restaurant.
Almost 100 residents from a nursing home in Pasadena were helped to leave, CBS News said.Â
Video showed elderly residents, many in wheelchairs and on gurneys, crowded onto a smoky and windswept parking lot as fire trucks and ambulances attended to them.
About 188,000 homes and businesses in Los Angeles county were without power on Wednesday, data from PowerOutage.us showed.
