Firefighters in Los Angeles County are battling five life-threatening wildfires 36 hours after the first flames broke out in the Palisades area, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reports. The fires were whipped up in a flash thanks to a combination of unusually dry weather and hurricane-force gusts that reached speeds of up to 99 mph (160 km/h).
More than 100,000 LA residents have been evacuated from their homes and about 29,000 acres (11,300 hectares) have been burned by the five fires as of early Thursday morning (Jan. 9.) The fires have destroyed more than 1,000 structures so far and five confirmed fatalities have been reported, according to the Associated Press (AP).
