Firefighters are finally started gaining control over two major wildfires on the eastern and western flanks of Los Angeles as fierce winds that supercharged the fires for days are easing - for now.
Six simultaneous wildfires have devastated Los Angeles County neighbourhoods since Tuesday, killed at least 11 people and damaged or destroyed 10,000 structures. Those totals are expected to grow once it is safe enough for firefighters to conduct house-to-house searches.
With thousands of people suddenly homeless and the thickening smoke leading US officials to declare a public health emergency, firefighters on Friday reported progress arresting the Palisades Fire on the western edge of the city and the Eaton Fire in the foothills east of the sprawling metropolis.
After burning out of control for days, despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters attacking the blazes from the air and on the ground, the Palisades Fire was eight per cent contained and the Eaton Fire three per cent. Cal Fire had listed containment levels of both fires at 0.0 per cent until Friday.
Even so, the two big fires combined had consumed 14,100 hectares).
Some 153,000 people remained under evacuation orders and another 166,800 faced evacuation warnings, with a curfew in place for all evacuation zones, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
Seven neighbouring states, the federal government and Canada have rushed aid to California, bolstering aerial teams dropping water and fire retardant on the flaming hills and crews on the ground attacking fire lines with hand tools and hoses.
Conditions in the Los Angeles area will improve through the weekend, with sustained winds slowing to about 30km/h. However, forecasters predicted another red flag warning would be issued for Monday.
The psychological toll on a traumatised county of nearly 10 million people has yet to be assessed.
Pacific Palisades residents who ventured back to their devastated neighbourhoods were shocked to find brick chimneys looming over charred waste and burnt-out vehicles as acrid smoke lingered in the air.
"This was a house that was loved," Pacific Palisades resident Kelly Foster, 44, said while combing through the ashy rubble where her house once stood as smoke rose from neighbouring homes and planes dropped water nearby.
Foster's 16-year-old daughter, Ada, said she tried to get inside but "I just became sick. I just couldn't even ... Yeah, it's hard."
In Rick McGeagh's Palisades neighbourhood, only six of 60 homes survived, and all that remained standing at his ranch house was a statue of the Virgin Mary.
"Everything else is ash and rubble," said McGeagh, 61, a commercial real estate broker, who along with his wife, raised three children at their home.
On Friday morning, hundreds of people streamed into a parking lot near the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena for donated clothing, nappies and bottled water.
Denise Doss, 63, said she was anxious to return to her destroyed home in Altadena to see if anything was salvageable, but officials stopped her due to safety concerns.
"At least to say goodbye until we can rebuild. I will let God lead me," Doss said.
Many Altadena residents said they were worried government resources would go to wealthier areas and that insurers might short-change those who cannot afford to contest denials of fire claims.
Beyond those who lost their homes, tens of thousands remained without power, and millions of people were exposed to poorer air quality, as the fires lofted traces of metals, plastics and other synthetic materials.
Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic loss at $US135 billion to $US150 billion ($A218 billion to $A242 billion), portending an arduous recovery and soaring homeowners' insurance costs.
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara called on insurers on Friday to suspend pending non-renewals and cancellations that homeowners received before the fires began and to extend the grace period for payments.
President Joe Biden has declared the fires a major disaster and said the US government would reimburse 100 per cent of the recovery for the next six months. In a call with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday he reiterated his pledge to provide California with resources to fight the blazes and rebuild.
"This is not going to be over, even when all the fires are out, it's just going to be beginning ... so we're going to be around a long while to help," Biden told an Oval Office briefing.
