LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� Firefighters hoped for a break Friday from fierce winds fueling that have killed 10 people, obliterated whole neighborhoods and set the nation's second-largest city on edge.
The fires have burned more than 10,000 homes and other structures since Tuesday, when they first began popping up around a densely populated, 25-mile (40-kilometer) expanse north of downtown Los Angeles. has been identified for the largest fires.
The even in a state that has grown used to massive wildfires. Dozens of blocks of scenic Pacific Palisades were flattened to smoldering rubble. In neighboring Malibu, blackened palm strands were all that was left above debris where oceanfront homes once stood.
Metropolitan LA and its 13 million residents woke up Friday to yet another day of fire-stoking winds and the threat of new flareups. But the gusts were expected to diminish by evening and already have died down from earlier in the week, when hurricane-force winds that ignited hillsides.
That could give firefighters a chance to make more progress, but meteorologist Rich Thompson warned the break could be short-lived.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for a little respite on Friday and Saturday from the Santa Ana winds but then they鈥檙e going to pick up again Sunday through most of next week,鈥� he said Thursday evening.
New blazes have continued to crop up. On Thursday afternoon, in the San Fernando Valley just 2 miles (3 kilometers) from a school serving as a shelter for evacuees from another fire. It moved into neighboring Ventura County, but a large and aggressive response by firefighters stopped the flames from spreading.
Only hours before the fire roared to life officials said they were encouraged after firefighters aided by calmer winds and help from out-of-state crews saw the first signs of successfully beating back the .
A firefighting plane had to be grounded Thursday after it was struck by a drone flown by a civilian, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. Nobody was injured. It鈥檚 a federal crime to fly a drone during firefighting.
Firefighters made gains Thursday at slowing the spread of the major fires, but containment remained far out of reach.
Robert Lara sifted through the remains of his home in Altadena, next to Pasadena, on Thursday with tears in his eyes, hoping to find a safe with a set of earrings that once belonged to his great-great-grandmother.
鈥淎ll our memories, all our sentimental attachments, things that were gifted from generation to generation to generation are now gone,鈥� he said.
The Eaton Fire burning in that area started Tuesday night and has burned more than 5,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles.
To the west, the fire in Pacific Palisades, the largest burning in the LA area, has destroyed over 5,300 structures. Firefighters were able to establish the first bit of containment Thursday, but the blaze is already the most destructive in Los Angeles鈥� history.
Crews also knocked down a blaze with the help of water drops from aircraft. The fire that sparked late Wednesday near the heart of the entertainment industry came perilously close to igniting the famed Hollywood Bowl outdoor concert venue.
At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and groceries have been burned. So too were the Will Rogers鈥� Western Ranch House and Topanga Ranch Motel, dating to the 1920s.
The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage. AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on weather and its impact, on Thursday increased its estimate of the damage and economic loss to $135-$150 billion.
Returning to what鈥檚 left
Bridget Berg, who watched her home in Altadena erupt in flames live on TV while she was at work, came back with her family on Thursday 鈥渏ust to make it real.鈥�
They searched through charred debris of the house they bought 16 years ago, finding pieces of pottery, petrified wood and Japanese wood block prints handed down by a grandmother.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not like we just lost our house,鈥� she said. 鈥淓verybody lost their house.鈥�
The enormity of the destruction emerges
Right now, it鈥檚 impossible to quantify the extent of the destruction other than 鈥渢otal devastation and loss,鈥� said Barbara Bruderlin, head of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce.
鈥淭here are areas where everything is gone, there isn鈥檛 even a stick of wood left, it鈥檚 just dirt,鈥� Bruderlin said.
Of the 10 deaths so far, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley confirmed two were in the Palisades Fire. County officials said the Eaton Fire had killed five.
Two of the dead were Anthony Mitchell, a 67-year-old amputee, and his son, Justin, who had cerebral palsy. They were waiting for an ambulance to come and did not make it to safety when the flames roared through, Mitchell鈥檚 daughter, Hajime White, told The Washington Post.
Shari Shaw told that she tried to get her 66-year-old brother, Victor Shaw, to evacuate Tuesday night but he wanted to stay and fight the fire. Crews found his body with a garden hose in his hand.
California is seeing a longer fire season
California鈥檚 wildfire season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change, according to recent data. Several weather monitoring agencies announced Friday that .
Dry winds, including , have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which has not seen more than 0.1 inches (2.5 millimeters) of rain since early May.
Evacuations, school closures and arrests
At least 180,000 people were under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 56 square miles (145 square kilometers), larger than the size of San Francisco.
All schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation鈥檚 second largest, will be closed again Friday because of the heavy smoke wafting over the city and ash raining down in parts.
California National Guard troops arrived on the streets of Altadena before dawn Friday to help protect property in the fire evacuation zone. At least 20 arrests have been made for looting.
Actors among those who lost homes
Many celebrities live in areas devastated by fire. were Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton.
said his Pacific Palisades home was miraculously spared but found his once-picturesque neighborhood charred and unrecognizable. He returned to help with relief efforts.
鈥淭here鈥檚 really a lot of pain going on right now," he said. "I鈥檓 doing whatever I can to help alleviate it.鈥�
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This story has been updated to correct that the Palisades Fire has seen some containment, not the Eaton Fire.
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Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio, and Watson from San Diego. Associated Press journalists Manuel Valdes, Eugene Garcia, Krysta Fauria and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; Ethan Swope in Pasadena, California; Hallie Golden in Seattle; Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Janie Har in San Francisco; Brian Melley in London; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland; and Tammy Webber in Detroit contributed.
Jaimie Ding, Julie Watson And John Seewer, The Associated Press
