Fierce wildfires fueled by severe windstorms and bone-dry conditions spread rapidly across parts of north and northwest Los Angeles on Wednesday after claiming five lives and setting more than 1,000 homes, businesses and other structures ablaze.

The Palisades Fire remains the largest after being the first to erupt Tuesday morning around 10.30 a.m. local time (1830GMT), burning nearly 16,000 acres as it rapidly spreads in and around the affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood near the coast.

Firefighters are struggling to bring the wind-fueled blaze near the coast under control while also battling two other major infernos in the Los Angeles area. The Eaton Fire northeast of downtown Los Angeles has burned 10,600 acres. The Hurst Fire to the northwest of downtown has grown to over 500 acres.

All of the fires are burning out of control.

AccuWeather, a forecasting media company, estimates that the fires have caused between $52 and $57 billion in damages.

“This is a terrible disaster. We’re just starting to get a clear look at the magnitude of the destruction and loss," said AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter.

Over 70,000 residents have been forced to flee their homes. At least five people have been killed so far, according to multiple media reports that cited the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office.

Some 1.5 million people across southern California are without power, according to the PowerOutage.us website. Some of the outages may have been caused by intentional shut-offs, a tactic power companies sometimes employ to prevent live power lines from falling and further spreading wildfires.

US President Joe Biden has ordered the deployment of four US Forest Service Large Air Tankers, with another en route, as well as 10 federal firefighting helicopters to help combat the blazes, the White House said. Dozens of Forest Service fire trucks have also been prepositioned to aid firefighting efforts.

Speaking at a briefing with state and local officials at a fire station in Santa Monica, a city just south of where the Palisades Fire is raging, Biden said federal officials are "doing anything and everything" to bring the blazes under control.

"It’s going to be a hell of a long way. It’s going to take time," he said. "It’s astounding what’s happening."

The White House later said Biden's presence did not affect ongoing efforts to bring the infernos under control. (Anadolu Agency)

•PHOTO: Torrance Firefighters are seen gearing up to fight the Palisades Fire, as residents try to escape the site in Pacific Palisades, California, Los Angeles, United States on January 8, 2025.