By BBC
Firefighters are battling to control huge wildfires in Los Angeles that have killed at least 24 people, devoured thousands of buildings and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.
It’s a rapidly changing situation – these maps and pictures show the scale of the challenge, where the fires are and the damage they have caused.
The largest blaze, in the Pacific Palisades area is the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history. More than 23,000 acres have now burnt.
Placing the area affected on to maps of New York and London gives a sense of how big that is, stretching from Clapham to Greenwich in the UK’s capital, or across large areas of lower Manhattan and Queens.
hree fires are currently burning in the Los Angeles area.
- Palisades fire: The largest active fire is burning between Santa Monica and Malibu. Burnt area: 23,713 acres.
- Eaton fire: Second largest fire burning north of Pasadena. Burnt area: 14,117 acres.
- Hurst fire: To the north east of the city. Burnt area: 799 acres. It’s 89% contained, according to LA officials.
Officials say more than 12,000 structures have been destroyed by the two biggest fires – about 5,000 each in the Palisades and Eaton blazes.
As the maps below show, the fires are largely burning uninhabited areas but they have spread into populated areas and many more buildings could be at risk depending on how the infernos spread.
