Multiple wildfires, including the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire, are raging across southern California Thursday, leaving at least 5 dead and burning more than 27,000 acres, officials say. Police have arrested 20 suspected looters.

Firefighters battled early Thursday to control major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and caused thousands of people to frantically

The extreme fire conditions caused by a "life-threatening" windstorm have been deemed a "particularly dangerous situation," weather officials say.

While the cause of each blaze has yet to be determined, all burned in or near foothill communities amid gusty winds and dry air and vegetation.

Authorities continued to battle the Palisades and Eaton fires throughout Los Angeles County as lower wind speeds are expected to provide some respite Thursday morning before picking up again in the afternoon, though firefighters were able to lift evacuation orders for a fire that burned through the Hollywood Hills.

The Hollywood Hills blazed uncontrollably on Thursday morning as the worst wildfires in the history of Los Angeles raged across the city and deep into the storied heartland of the American film industry.