California fires reside updates: Los Angeles wildfires sweep via Hollywood Hills in apocalyptic scenes described as ‘Armageddon’

Victor Shaw, 66, was found still clutching a garden hose after he died desperately trying to save his home of 55 years.

He was found by a neighbor after the Eaton fire, one of four still burning acorss Los Angeles, ripped through his neighborhood.

His sister Shari Shaw tried to get him to evacuate, but had to leave him behind when he refused to come with her and she fled just as the blaze engulfed their home.

Al Tanner found Victor’s charred body the next day lying on the road next to his home.

‘I fell to the ground, and I didn’t know – I didn’t want to look at him. They just told me that he was lying on the ground and that he looked serene, as if he was at peace,’ Shari told KTLA.

Victor is the first of five confirmed deaths in the fire to be identified.

The water system used to fight the Palisades fire in Los Angeles buckled under the demands of what turned out to be the most destructive fire in city history, with some hydrants running dry as they were overstressed without assistance from firefighting aircraft for hours.

Fire crews and evacuees dealing with the raging Sunset Fire have been slowed down by the roads in Hollywood.

Traffic jams of evacuees, fire trucks and police vehicles were widespread.

The roads that snake through the Hollywood Hills are notoriously difficult to navigate.

Many residential streets have many bends, no pavements and not much space for two-way traffic.

Some Los Angeles restaurants are offering free meals to first responders and residents forced to evacuate.

‘As so many have been displaced by the fires, if you find yourself displaced and in need of a meal, please join us, compliments,’ Bar Etoile, a restaurant in LA’s East Hollywood neighbourhood, posted on Instagram.

Earlier, Trump claimed in a bizarre rant that officials were refraining from using ocean water to put out fires to ‘protect a tiny little fish’ amid fears of water shortages in California.

The SoCal governor hit back, saying ‘Broadly speaking, there is no water shortage in Southern California right now, despite Trump’s claims that he would open some imaginary spigot.’

Now, Trump has called for the governor to resign, claiming the wildfires – which were exacerbated by low humidity, dry vegetation and high winds – are ‘his fault’.

He posted on Truth:

One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground. It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!

Rebel Wilson has revealed that her beloved cat had to be rescued from her LA home as the city is engulfed in devastating wildfires.

The Australian actress, 44, lives with her wife Ramona Agruma and daughter Royce, 2, in the Hollywood Hills.

Taking to Instagram on Thursday, the Pitch Perfect star revealed that her home had been impacted by the horrific fires.

Rebel shared a frightening image, taken by her friend Ornela, that showed the West Hollywood skyline engulfed in flames.

While it’s unclear how badly Rebel’s home has been impacted by the fires, she did reveal that her cat required rescuing from the encroaching flames.

‘Can not believe this,’ Rebel captioned the terrifying image.

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The White House announced that Joe Biden had cancelled Thursday’s planned visit to Italy to focus on directing the federal response to the fires.

This was the final overseas trip of his presidency.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump claimed in a bizarre rant that officials were refraining from using ocean water to put out fires to ‘protect a tiny little fish’ amid fears of water shortages in California.

The SoCal governor hit back:

Broadly speaking, there is no water shortage in Southern California right now, despite Trump’s claims that he would open some imaginary spigot.

The devastation wrought by the hellish wildfires tearing through Los Angeles has been laid bare by a series of horrifying before and after images that emerged this morning.

A slew of notable locations, including Sunset Boulevard that splits the upscale Pacific Palisades, were engulfed in punishing flames that tore through residential and commercial areas alike and reduced buildings to burnt-out husks.

Banks, restaurants, gas stations and homes were left in smouldering ruins along the iconic boulevard, where bulldozers were forced to remove abandoned luxury motors, forging a path for emergency services and firefighters.

The latest fires mean huge swathes of iconic southern California real estate from Malibu to Santa Monica, and from Pacific Palisades to Runyon Canyon, are ablaze – impacting millions caught off guard by the unprecedented spread and carnage.

As of Thursday morning, the largest inferno has consumed nearly 12,000 acres (4,856 hectares) in the picturesque Pacific Palisades neighborhood that is home to many film, television and music stars.

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Fake photos and videos showing the Hollywood sign on fire were shared widely on social media.

But these are edited and some are said to be AI-generated.

At the time of writing, the sign is unharmed.

Apocalyptic scenes of 120ft flames engulfing multi-million dollar homes stunned the world yesterday as wildfires tore through one of Hollywood’s most exclusive enclaves.

Stars such as Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Star Wars’ Mark Hamill, American actor James Woods and Formula 1 heiress Petra Ecclestone were forced to flee as rampaging wildfires ripped through Pacific Palisades, burning everything in their path.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck were seen returning to their properties, with one neighbour telling the Mail he saw Affleck wielding a garden hose to soak the deck at the back of his ex-wife Jennifer Garner’s mansion.

• Caroline Graham writes:

More than 1,500 California firefighters are tasked with quelling the wind-whipped wildfires, while the California National Guard prepares to deploy more military personnel to assist.

Already, 600 service members have arrived from the Cal Guard along with equipment to help local authorities. They brought 10 rotary wing aircrafts and two C-130 planes to help fight the fires.

K-9s which specialize in human-remains detection will be brought in once the fires are under control to ensure there are no other dead bodies in the wreckage of the fires, LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said on Wednesday evening.

A perfect storm of overgrown vegetation, dry conditions and uncharacteristic winds are responsible for whipping up the most devastating wildfire Los Angeles has ever seen with more than 20 square miles razed to the ground in less than 48 hours.

The stunning time-lapse, stitched together from various live webcams, showed how a small plume of grey smoke began rising in a ‘back garden’ on the city’s outskirts on Tuesday morning.

At first the smoke seemed innocuous but within minutes the plume had developed into a thick cloud as the flames began tearing through bone-dry shrubbery. Before long, the City of Angels was ablaze.

She believes the fire started accidentally in a back garden around 10am Tuesday morning before ‘spreading at a speed beyond anything we’ve seen’.

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One of the people killed in fires died trying to protect his home from the flames, his sister said on Wednesday.

Victor Shaw ignored firefighters’ pleas to flee as fire began tearing through the Altadena area, Shari Shaw told local broadcaster KTLA.

The 66-year-old, who lived with his sister and had serious health issues, told her he wanted to stay behind and fight the flames as she made the decision to leave their family home.

Al Tanner, a friend of Shaw’s, later found his body in the driveway of the burned property.

It looked like he was trying to save the home that his parents had had for almost 55 years

The US National Weather Service has issued an updated forecast, saying there is a “critical risk of fire weather”  over parts of southern California throughout today.

Strong high pressure over parts of the Northern Intermountain Region and Great Basin will set up Santa Ana winds over southern California

Patsy Palmer has shared her heartbreak as devastating wildfires sweep across her ‘hometown’ of Los Angeles – as fellow Brits Alice Evans and Brooklyn Beckham are also impacted by the terrifying incident.

The actress, 52, moved to Malibu in 2014 along with husband Richard and her children and returns frequently to the UK to film EastEnders.

She told in a post on Thursday alongside a picture of the fires that her ‘brain was fried’ and lots of her friends in the area she lives in had lost their homes.

Patsy had returned to the UK last Saturday before the fires broke out and said it was hard being so far away as the fires rage.

Patsy wrote: ‘My heart is broken. My brain is fried today looking at the devastating scenes of the fires AGAIN in my hometown. I just returned home to my home in case after the fires a couple of weeks ago and left on Saturday back to work in the UK and now this.

‘My family are safe but lots of my friends have lost their homes again which is extremely traumatic.’

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Several landmarks and buildings have already been destroyed by the fires.

The iconic Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles has been left ‘in ruins’

Theatre Palisades, a community theatre founded in 1963 by a trio of television writers, sustained ‘serious damage’

The grounds of the art museum Getty Villa, an art museum have also burnt, though it’s believed the art has remained undamaged

The Altadena Golf Course, which dates back to 1910, sustained serious damage

The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center buildings lost to the fire

Two popular state parks, the Will Rogers State Park and Topanga State Park, have also been severely burned

Blake Lively returned to Instagram on Wednesday for the first time since filing two lawsuits against Justin Baldoni.

The Gossip Girl star, 37, shared two Stories with some helpful resources for those affected by the devastating fires raging throughout Los Angeles since Tuesday.

The first was a Google document with links to shelters and animal boarding resources, compiled by @mutualaidla. ‘To everyone affected by the Los Angeles fires…’ Blake wrote on the document.

The second slide showed more of the document, with Blake adding, ‘MALAN is regularly updating this Google sheet with mutual aid resources for folks in LA. There’s info on shelters, free PPE, food, animal rescues, and more. If you have additional resources, please share them with @mutualaidla.’

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Daniel Swain, climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, told CNN the Palisades Fire is expected to be the costliest wildfire in history.

The fire has already destroyed at least 1,000 structures and is already the most destructive to ever occur in Los Angeles County, according to data from CalFire.

It is plausible that the Palisades Fire, in particular, will become the costliest on record period, not just in California, but in general. We’ve likely checked that box this time. I’m hoping we don’t check other boxes as well.

At least five people have been killed and officials expect the death toll to rise as fast-moving fires continue to blaze across Los Angeles County, mostly uncontained.

Polluted air and unsafe water pose a threat in several areas.

Extreme weather ignited fires throughout Southern California, as strong winds and low humidity worsened the conditions.

The wind and fast-moving embers were the biggest factors that caused the fire to spread so quickly, according to Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin.

The Los Angeles Fire Department announced that most of the evacuation zone for areas impacted by the Sunset Fire in Hollywood Hills has been lifted.

Officials have maintained restrictions on a small section of the community, specifically the region north of Franklin Avenue, stretching from Camino Palmero Street to N. Sierra Bonita Avenue, the fire department said in a statement.

The zone originally included several of Los Angeles’ most iconic landmarks.

Fire activity in Hollywood has significantly decreased, with the blaze now contained to 60 to 100 acres within a secured perimeter set by the LAFD.

Authorities are urging residents to exercise caution upon returning to their homes.

Bella Hadid, Khloe Kardashian and Ariana Grande were among the stars who shared their shocked reactions to the devastating fires raging in Los Angeles.

On Wednesday, Hadid, 28, who grew up in Malibu, took to Instagram sharing a photo of the city burning, writing, ‘Praying for our beautiful Malibu and all of the families, homes, and businesses affected. This is a nightmare turned reality.’

Khloe, 40, also shared a photo of the devastation, writing, ‘I cannot believe this is the Pacific Palisades. This is so incredibly heart wrenching. My heart is aching for all of Los Angeles.’

Wicked star Ariana, 31, wrote ‘My heart is with everyone impacted by the devastating LA fires. Sharing some organizations to support who are responding to those affected in realtime: @lafdfoundation @calfund @mutualaidla.’

John Legend’s wife, Chrissy Teigen, 39, shared a photo of herself in her walk-in closet with a black suitcase at her feet.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s girlfriend, Vittoria Ceretti, 26, wrote: ‘I love you LA. I’m so sorry this is happening.’

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass stood stone-faced and refused to answer a reporter’s question for two full minutes after being out of the country while killer wildfires raged through her city.

Furious Los Angelinos blasted their mayor for traveling to Ghana while the city burns, despite having ample warning about ‘critical’ weather conditions in the days before.

Bass flew out to attend the West African country’s presidential inauguration on Tuesday, after meteorologists warned that a ‘recipe for fire’ was on track to strike LA.

The mayor was there to attend the inauguration of the new president and meet with the country’s first-ever female vice president.

She was cornered by journalist David Blevins from Sky News at the airport upon her return with an assistant, who both refused to answer his questions.

Bass immediately indicated that she’s not going to answer his questions and turned away.

Blevins then asked her a series of questions that she did not respond to.

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An unearthed clip of Joe Rogan making a chilling prediction about how ferocious wildfires in Los Angeles have the potential to get out of hand has gone viral online.

This week, at least five people have lost their lives in the devastating natural disaster – with 2,000 structures completely obliterated and thousands of people left with nothing but ash across the City of Angels.

Comedian Rogan was speaking to fellow comic Sam Morill on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience that aired on July 19, 2024, when he mentioned wildfires in California.

At one point, Morill pointed out the t-shirt Rogan was wearing representing the Los Angeles Fire Department, noting it was a ‘bada**’ job.

Rogan then recounted the stunning conversation he’d had with a firefighter about how wildfires could get shockingly out of hand.

He said: ‘One day, it’s just gonna be the right wind and fire’s gonna start in the right place and it’s gonna burn through LA all the way to the ocean and there’s not a f***ing thing we can do about it.’

Rogan incredulously asked if it was really true and the unnamed firefighter affirmed, saying that previous times they’ve ‘just get lucky with the wind.’

‘If the wind hits the wrong way, it’s just going to burn through LA and there’s not a thing we can do about it,’ talking about how the winds can blow the embers through the dry Los Angeles climate.’

• Watch the clip here:

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman warned that those preying on fire victims will be prosecuted to ‘the fullest extent of the law’.

Two people have been arrested for looting, according to the Los Angeles County’s Sheriff Robert Luna.

CNN reported a local fleeing the Sunset Fire in Hollywood Hills as saying the situation is chaotic, with vehicles speeding away and helicopters dumping water on the flames.

Traffic is jammed to fire trucks and police vehicles as well as people trying to leave

Palisades Fire: At least 15,832 acres and 0 per cent contained

Eaton Fire: At least 10,600 acres and 0 per cent contained

Hurst Fire: At least 855 acres and 10 per cent contained

Lidia Fire: At least 348 acres and 40 per cent contained

Sunset Fire: At least 60 acres and 0 per cent contained

The city Pasadena issued an urgent alert concerning unsafe drinking water in areas impacted by recent evacuations due to the Eaton Fire.

The water and power system could be compromised by “debris and elevated turbidity”.

Locals should only drink bottled water – also for food preparation, brushing teeth and pet care.

Attempts to treat the water – whether through boiling, filtering, or adding disinfectants is ineffective and unsafe.

A wildfire erupted in the Hollywood Hills, California, putting the iconic Hollywood sign at risk.

Footage posted on X showed flames racing toward Hollywood Boulevard.

• John Goodman
• Anthony Hopkins
• Miles and Keleigh Teller
• Eugene Levy
• Billy Crystal
• Adam Brody and Leighton Meester
• Anna Faris
• Paris Hilton
• Sandra Lee
• Ricki Lake
• Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag
• Matthew Perry’s former home
• James Woods
• Mark Hamill
• Ben Affleck
• Cameron Mathison
• Cobie Smulders
• Jamie Lee Curtis
• Maria Shriver

Hollywood’s biggest celebrities are picking up the pieces after discovering their affluent neighbourhood was reduced to ash and rubble when the California wildfires tore through the Pacific Palisades.

The death toll of the historic infernos have now reached five, as heroic firefighters still battle hellish conditions on the front lines of at least five different fires.

The homes of Anthony Hopkins, John Goodman and Miles Teller are among those destroyed, while dozens of other stars now face an anxious wait alongside their neighbours to learn if anything could be saved.

Apocalyptic fires tore through the ritzy enclave of Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, rapidly spreading to surrounding suburbs as a windstorm carried embers and debris in all directions.

Residents fled and then waited with bated breath to learn more about their homes, as news began trickling out that entire streets were wiped off the map, firefighters wererunning out of water, and resources were being diverted to fight the fire on multiple fronts.

Now, the widespread devastation is becoming clearer as celebrities share their devastation upon discovering they’ve lost their million-dollar mansions.

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These photographs illustrate the extensive damage caused by the wildfires which have destroyed thousands of homes, businesses and cars so far across Los Angeles.

Fire ravaged businesses are left smouldering after the Palisades blaze

Fire-damaged vehicles are lined up at a dealership after the Eaton Fire

A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire around a burned building

A man walks past one buisness left destroyed by the Eaton Fire

Drone footage captured the devastation in Altadena near Pasadena

Hollywood Boulevard has been evacuated with 100,000 people told to flee with six wildfires raging as the apocalyptic skies of Los Angeles continue to fill with smoke.

Two new blazes broke out overnight in the Hollywood Hills and Studio City – forcing first responders to redeploy their already-scarce resources to the burnt landscape.

The LA Fire Department issued an evacuation order for people in an area within Hollywood Boulevard to the south, Mulholland Drive to the north, the 101 Freeway to the east and Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west – all iconic addresses in showbiz.

The latest fires mean huge swathes of iconic southern California real estate from Malibu to Santa Monica, and from Pacific Palisades to Runyon Canyon, are ablaze – impacting millions caught off guard by the unprecedented spread and carnage.

At least five people have lost their lives in the disaster so far – with 2,000 structures obliterated and thousands of people left with nothing but ash across the city.

• Read the full story by Dailymail.com reporter Brittany Chain here

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage of the California fires as blazes continue to rage and spread across Los Angeles.

Residents and businesses have likened the apocalyptic scenes to ‘Armageddon’ as blazes broke out in Southern California for a second consecutive day with 100mph winds whipping up the flames.

At least five people have been killed and more than 130,000 forced to leave their homes in what has become the most destructive fire in the history of Los Angeles County.

Many celebrities have seen their multi-million dollar mansions razed to the ground as the fire spread to Hollywood Hills as desperate firefighters take water from ponds and swimming pools to tackle the wildfires.

Stick with us throughout the day as we bring you the latest updates from this developing story plus the most striking pictures and videos from California.