Two massive wildfires menacing Los Angeles from the east and west devoured nearly 10,000 homes and other structures, burning into a third night on Thursday even as the fierce winds eased and gave firefighters a welcome but temporary respite.
The Palisades Fire between Santa Monica and Malibu on the city's western flank and the Eaton Fire in the east near Pasadena already rank as the most destructive in Los Angeles history, consuming 34,000 acres (13,750 hectares) and turning entire neighborhoods to ash.
Officials from three different jurisdictions reported a total of seven people dead, though Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told a press conference he did not want to pronounce an exact number until it was safe for human remains detection teams to conduct house-to-house searches.
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