Strong winds have been largely blamed for turning the wildfires into infernos that destroyed entire neighbourhoods around a city which has seen no significant rainfall in more than eight months.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office has confirmed the death toll from the wildfires ravaging the area has risen to 16.
Five of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire and 11 resulted from the Eaton Fire, the coroner’s office said in a statement.
The previous number of confirmed fatalities was 11, but officials said they expected that figure to rise as cadaver dogs search levelled neighbourhoods and crews assess the devastation.
A fierce battle against the flames was underway in Mandeville Canyon, home to Arnold Schwarzenegger and other celebrities not far from the Pacific coast, where swooping helicopters dumped water as the blaze charged downhill.
Firefighters on the ground used hoses in an attempt to beat back leaping flames as thick smoke blanketed the chaparral-covered hillside.
At a briefing, CalFire Operations Chief Christian Litz said a main focus would be the Palisades Fire burning in the canyon area, not far from the UCLA campus.
“We need to be aggressive out there,” Litz said.
County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said the LA area “had another night of unimaginable terror and heartbreak and even more Angelenos evacuated due to the northeast expansion of the Palisades Fire.”
