Besides the two fatalities, a significant number of people have been injured, according to the police in Los Angeles.
One of the affected neighborhoods is the celebrity-studded Pacific Palisades, which started burning on Tuesday. The flames spread quickly due to strong winds, and by Wednesday morning, local time, the city's fire chief reported that a thousand buildings had been destroyed in the neighborhood.
Many without power
The authorities issued an evacuation order to tens of thousands of people, which led to many getting into their cars, resulting in long queues. In the stationary traffic, some people chose to abandon their cars and continue on foot.
This, in turn, caused problems for emergency vehicles – which had to call in excavators to push aside the empty vehicles.
By Wednesday morning, local time, 70,000 people had been ordered to evacuate, and at least 28,000 buildings were threatened by the fires, according to the authorities. More than 180,000 people have been affected by power outages.
Biden offers help
The strong winds are expected to increase, which has prompted the rescue services to appeal to firefighters who are not on duty to help.
An investigation into the cause of all the fires has been initiated.
President Joe Biden stated in a statement early on Wednesday that he and his administration are in contact with the affected parties, both at the state and local levels, and that he has offered "all the federal assistance needed".
