Thousands of acres are burning in LA

Los Angeles firefighters are battling a string of blazes in the city's suburbs as tens of thousands of residents are forced to flee.

The rapidly changing situation is compounded by Santa Ana winds and extremely dry conditions. At this time, authorities say there is no way some of the fires will be contained.

The Palisades fire, which is closest to the coast and also the largest, tore through picturesque suburbs that are home to many Hollywood stars. More than 1,000 buildings have already been destroyed.

This is how the fires spread and affect the Los Angeles area.

Seven fires are currently being extinguished.

The Palisades the fire was first reported at 10:30 a.m. (18:30 GMT) on Tuesday and grew in just 20 minutes from a 20-acre blaze to more than 200 acres, and by Wednesday evening approached 16,000 acres. At least 30,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes so far.

The Ethan the fire grew to cover 1,000 acres within the first six hours of breaking out. It started in Altadena in the hills above Pasadena around 6:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday. By Wednesday evening, five deaths had been reported and it had spread to more than 10,000 acres.

The Hearst the fire is located just north of San Fernando. It started burning on Tuesday around 10:10 p.m. local time, growing to 850 acres, according to local authorities. That triggered evacuation orders in neighboring Santa Clarita.

The Woodley A fire broke out in Woodley Park around 06:15 local time on Wednesday. The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) says it is now under control.

A olives The fire broke out in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles, and burned about 11 acres of land, but it is also now contained.

The Lydia fire broke out around 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Acton Mountain area north of Los Angeles and has grown to cover nearly 350 acres. As of 21:00 it is 40% contained.

The Sunset fire broke out around 6 p.m. in Hollywood Hills, a residential neighborhood overlooking the city's historic Hollywood district. It currently covers around 50 acres and is 0% restricted. There is a mandatory evacuation order.

The map above shows how quickly the Palisades fire spread, intensifying in a matter of hours. Just after 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, it covered 772 acres and within four hours had grown to roughly its current size.

Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate as more than 1,400 firefighters battle the blaze.

To give an idea of ​​the size of the Palisades fire, we overlaid it on maps of New York and London.

As you can see, it is comparable in size to the central part of the capital of the United Kingdom or to large areas of Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Another indication of the scale of the Palisades fire comes from NASA's Earth Observatory.

Images captured on Tuesday showed a huge plume of smoke coming out of California and drifting out to sea.

The Palisades fire isn't the only one having a devastating effect on Los Angeles neighborhoods.

The images above show the Pasadena Jewish Temple before and during the Eaton fire.

The Jewish Temple and Center website says it has been in use since 1941. and has a congregation of more than 400 families.