Wildfires Roar Near Los Angeles With Winds Seen Intensifying (1)

Uncontrolled wildfires tore through parts of the Los Angeles region, fanned by extreme winds, forcing thousands of residents to flee and grounding firefighting aircraft.

The largest blaze — known as the Palisades Fire — roared across almost 3,000 acres just west of Santa Monica early Wednesday, while separate blazes exploded in size overnight. A fire in Eaton Canyon, near Altadena, has expanded to about 1,000 acres, while another grows northwest of LA. All are uncontained.

Firefighters battle flames during the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 7.

Photographer: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg

Mandatory evacuation orders have been expanded to parts of northern Santa Monica, with alerts covering a large swath of the coastal city warning that ...