Los Angeles is in the grip of unprecedented wildfires that are destroying homes and ending lives. A fire that started in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Tuesday morning quickly blazed out of control,

The high school where Brian De Palma brought Stephen King’s “Carrie” to life, Will Rogers’ ranch house and a motel owned by William Randolph Hearst are among some of the famous structures that were damaged or destroyed by the California Fires.

Forecasters warned that a significant Santa Ana wind event this week could help wildfires spread quickly and erratically. Utility companies said they may pre-emptively cut off power to some customers.

A series of life-threatening fires, the largest of which is in the Pacific Palisades, are destroying homes as they race across Los Angeles County and surrounding areas. CNN is tracking the fires in maps and charts.

A live camera from the state's Alert California network shows billowing smoke from a burning hillside near the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in the Santa Monica Mountains. Dire warnings have been issued for the Los Angeles area after forecasters say there is the potential for the strongest wind event in more than a decade.

Forecasters said "life-threatening, destructive" gusts could last for days while toppling trees and bringing extreme fire risk to areas that haven't seen substantial rain in months.

Two massive wildfires menacing Los Angeles from the east and west were still burning uncontained on Thursday, but a brief respite from the fierce winds that have fanned the flames for two days allowed crews to slow their explosive spread.

The confirmed death toll in the Los Angeles wildfires doubled Thursday night — from five fatalities to 10. The office of the Los Angeles County medical examiner announced it was investigating 10 fire-related deaths as of 9 p.

Apocalyptic scenes have been left behind in the Los Angeles area as fires continue to decimate neighborhoods—and many people from the Chicago area are among those directly affected. The fires have scorched more than 45 square miles of the Los Angeles area—leaving total devastation behind.

Firefighters battled early Thursday to control a series of major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and sent thousands of people frantically fleeing their homes.

Firefighters are making progress slowing the 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 flee their homes.