Photos: At least 2 dead as wildfires burn out of control around Los Angeles

Multiple wildfires tore across the Los Angeles area with devastating force early Wednesday, destroying more than 1,000 structures and killing at least two people as desperate residents escaped through flames, ferocious winds and towering clouds of smoke.

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Multiple massive wildfires tore across the Los Angeles area with devastating force early Wednesday, destroying more than 1,000 structures and killing at least two people as desperate residents escaped through flames, ferocious winds and towering clouds of smoke. At least four separate blazes were burning in the metropolitan area, from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena, home of the famed Rose Parade. With thousands of firefighters already attacking the flames, the Los Angeles Fire Department put out a plea for off-duty firefighters to help, and weather conditions were too windy for firefighting aircraft to fly, further hampering the fight.

Fire officials hoped to get the flights up later Wednesday. A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire around a burned structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 8, 2025.



(Etienne Laurent/AP) Residents embrace in front of a fire-ravaged property after the Palisades Fire swept through in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 8, 2025. (Etienne Laurent/AP) A man walks past a fire-ravaged business after the Eaton Fire swept through, Jan.

8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (Ethan Swope/AP) Fire-damaged vehicles are lined up at a dealership after the Eaton Fire swept through on Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif.

(Ethan Swope/AP) A firefighter battles the Eaton Fire, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (Ethan Swope/AP) Claudio and Kathleen Boltiansky embrace in their fire-ravaged neighborhood after the Palisades Fire swept through in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan.

8, 2025. (Etienne Laurent/AP) A resident sprays their property with a garden hose as the Eaton Fire engulfs structures across the street, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif.

(Ethan Swope/AP) Residents along Braeburn Road rush to save property as a home burns behind them during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. (Will Lester/The Orange County Register) A vehicle and other structures are burned as the Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan.

8, 2025. (Damian Dovarganes/AP) Thick heavy smoke from wildfires passes over the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles on Jan. 8, 2025.

(Richard Vogel/AP) Firefighters protect a structure as the Eaton Fire advances, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (Ethan Swope/AP) A person walks across from the burning Altadena Community Church, Jan.

8, 2025, in the downtown Altadena section of Pasadena, Calif. (Chris Pizzello/AP) The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 8, 2025.

(Damian Dovarganes/AP) A person turns on a garden hose in an effort to save a neighboring home from catching fire during the Eaton Fire on Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, California. Over 1,000 structures have burned, with two people dead, in wildfires fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds across L.

A. County. (Mario Tama/Getty) Firefighters pull a hose line as they prepare to spray water from a roof during the Eaton Fire on Jan.

8, 2025 in Altadena, California. (Mario Tama/Getty) A wildfire-ravaged property is shown after the Palisades Fire swept through in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 8, 2025.

(Damian Dovarganes/AP) People evacuate along Sunset Boulevard as the Palisades Fire burns amid a powerful windstorm on Jan. 7, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The fast-moving wildfire is threatening homes in the coastal neighborhood amid intense Santa Ana Winds and dry conditions in Southern California.

(Apu Gomes/Getty) Police officers help people evacuate along Sunset Boulevard as the Palisades Fire burns amid a powerful windstorm on Jan. 7, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. (Apu Gomes/Getty) Firefighters battle flames on Sunset Boulevard as the Palisades Fire burns during a powerful windstorm on Jan.

7, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. (Apu Gomes/Getty) Elderly patients are quickly evacuated into emergency vehicles as embers and flames approach during the Eaton fire in Pasadena, California on Jan. 7, 2025.

(Josh Edelson/Getty-AFP) Elderly patients are quickly evacuated into an armored vehicle as embers and flames approach during the Eaton fire in Pasadena, California on Jan. 7, 2025. (Josh Edelson/Getty-AFP) People use garden hoses in an effort to prevent a home from catching fire, as a home burns next door, during the Eaton Fire on Jan.

8, 2025 in Altadena, California. Over 1,000 structures have burned, with two people dead, in wildfires fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds across L.A.

County. (Mario Tama/Getty) A firefighting plane makes a drop on the Palisades fire on Jan. 7, 2025.

(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times) “There’s no water in the fire hydrants,” Caruso said. “The firefighters are there [in the neighborhood], and there’s nothing they can do — we’ve got neighborhoods burning, homes burning, and businesses burning. .

.. It should never happen.

” (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times) A wind gust sends burning embers into the air, helping to fuel the Eaton fire early, Jan. 8, 2025, in Altadena. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times) Firefighters battle a house fire off Bollinger Drive in Pacific Palisades on Jan.

7, 2025. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times) The Palisades Fire burns a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 2025.

(Ethan Swope/AP) Residents of a senior center are evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (Ethan Swope/AP) Residents of a senior center are evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan.

7, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (Ethan Swope/AP) A firefighter battles the advancing Palisades Fire as it burns a structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 2025.

(Etienne Laurent/AP) The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 2025. (Ethan Swope/AP) The Palisades Fire burns a Christmas tree inside a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan.

7, 2025. (Ethan Swope/AP) A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire as it burns a structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 2025.

(Ethan Swope/AP) A firefighter jumps over a fence while fighting the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 2025. (Ethan Swope/AP) A person tries to hose down embers from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan.

7, 2025. (Etienne Laurent/AP) A resident of a senior center is evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches, Jan. 7, 2025, in Altadena, Calif.

(Ethan Swope/AP) A resident of a senior center is evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (Ethan Swope/AP).