LA firefighters battle to contain monster inferno

Firefighters are fighting to stop the biggest of the fatal wildfires that threatens to expand into one of the most prestigious neighbourhoods in Los Angeles.

To contain the Palisades fire, which has spread by another 1,000 acres and is now threatening Brentwood, aerial teams have been saturating the burning hills with water and fire retardant.

Officials have been on the defensive amid mounting anger at how hydrants ran dry as firefighters struggled to contain the fast-moving blazes.

Winds are expected to pick up again overnight, further fanning the flames that have already left at least 11 people dead.

"LA County had another night of unimaginable terror and heartbreak," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath on Saturday.

Firefighters have made modest progress against the worst of the infernos, the Palisades fire, which has scorched nearly 23,000 acres and is 11% contained.

But the conflagration has spread into the Mandeville Canyon neighbourhood, sparking evacuation orders for swathes of Brentwood, a ritzy enclave where Arnold Schwarzenegger, Disney chief executive Bob Iger and NBA star LeBron James have homes.

Also in the evacuation zone is the Getty Centre, a hilltop museum that holds more than 125,000 artworks, including masterpieces by Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Rubens, Monet and Degas. The building is undamaged so far.

The second-biggest blaze, the Eaton fire, has razed more than 14,000 acres and was 15% contained. Firefighters have mostly contained two smaller blazes, the Kenneth and Hurst fires.

But the National Weather Service warned that the gusty Santa Ana winds that whipped up the fires at the outset would increase again on Saturday and into Sunday.

Seven neighbouring states, the federal government and Canada and Mexico have rushed resources to California.

No cause has yet been established for the fires. The two biggest ones combined have razed an area more than twice the size of Manhattan.

Source: BBC