But now the iconic beach is surrounded by the ruins of burned homes and palm trees, its parking lot a sorting ground for hazardous waste from the wildfires. The beach babes have been replaced by Environmental Protection Agency crews in hazmat suits sifting through melted electric car batteries and other hazardous waste before it’s trucked away to landfills.

The Palisades and Eaton fires generated a staggering amount of debris, estimated to be 4.5 million tonnes. In comparison, the devastating Maui fires of 2023 generated about 400,000 tonnes, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Those fires took three months of clean-up by the EPA, which is in charge of removing hazardous waste. But now the agency is hoping to finish their job in LA in just a month – by 25 February – after President Donald Trump signed an executive order demanding the EPA “expedite the bulk removal of contaminated and general debris”.

The decision to sort through the hazardous waste along the coast has prompted protests and as the clean-up of fire debris moves at unprecedented speeds, many are asking if and when the ocean water will be safe for swimming and surfing.

“In this very vulnerable place, they’re sorting this very hazardous, hazardous stuff,” said actor and environmentalist Bonnie Wright.

“To me, this feels like 10 steps backwards, because you’re literally putting this waste even closer to the beach than it already is in the burn sites.”

Ms Wright, who played Ginny Weasly in the Harry Potter films, wrote a book on sustainability and devotes most of her time now to environmental causes.

While their battle to move sorting sites away from the coast ultimately failed, she said activists were successful in urging the EPA to move burned electric vehicle batteries to the Will Rogers site down the road and away from the sensitive Topanga Creek watershed.

The EPA said the burned vehicle batteries are an especially dangerous challenge but that the agency has the expertise to deal with them. To sift waste, they need a large space with roads big enough for truck traffic – which is why the Pacific Coast Highway, which runs along the beach, is more attractive than inside the windy, mountainous roads of the Palisades.

When lithium ion batteries are damaged – especially by the high heat and flames of a wildfire – they have the potential for reigniting and exploding days, weeks, or even months after they’ve been impacted, said Steve Calanog, the EPA’s incident commander for the LA fires.

“We have to treat them like unexploded ordinance, or, as the military calls it UXO,” he said.

Although some have questioned the speed with which the EPA has moved to clean up the toxic debris, he said there is no time to waste.

“We have to do this very quickly,” he said, noting that they started sorting waste even as the fires were still raging.

“If we are delayed, the risk of impacting the ocean, it goes up again.”

Mr Calanog was also in charge of the EPA response to the Maui fires, which may hold clues for how to measure what is safe and reasonable when it comes to testing water and soil samples.

Many are concerned about the impacts of heavy metals and chemicals in the air and water after the fires. In Maui, it’s been nearly 18 months since the fires and a small part of the coast around Lahaina is still closed to the public. The Army Corps of Engineers – which removes heavy debris after the EPA removes hazardous waste – just finished their last haul from Lahaina on 20 February.

But most of Maui has remained open to locals and tourists and the Hawaii Department of Health announced eight months after the fires that the coastal waters around Lahaina were safe for ocean recreation.

The scale of the clean-up from the Los Angeles fires, however, is unprecedented and the largest in US history.

LA County closed beaches along a nine-mile (14 km) stretch for weeks following the fires in January. Then torrential rain – while helping douse any smouldering embers – caused mudslides in the burn area and runoff of toxic ash and chemicals into the ocean, prompting further closures.

Now most beaches are reopened but a water advisory remains in effect along the coast from Santa Monica to Malibu until further notice advising “beach goers may recreate on the sand but continue to be advised to stay away from visible fire debris and to stay out of the ocean water during any posted ocean advisory”.

Only the most dedicated and local surfers could access the beaches in the burn area anyway – there’s no parking or stopping for about 9 miles along Pacific Coast Highway, which is clogged with trucks and workers cleaning up debris.

Though some will risk most anything to catch a good wave.

While touring the EPA sorting site, Annelisa Moe said she saw two surfers in the water at a popular surf break on Topanga Beach while she watched workers across the street in full PPE handling burned EV car batteries.

“The water looked like chocolate milk with like brown foam on it,” recalled Ms Moe, who is the associate director of Science & Policy, Water Quality at Heal the Bay, an environmental nonprofit dedicated to making coastal watersheds healthy.

“It was one of those days, in between storms, like beautiful, sunny, 75 degree weather type of days,” she said. “And so it felt a little bit odd to be there amidst the destruction while we have this perfect beach day.”

Jenny Newman of the Los Angeles regional water quality control board told an LA County Public Health virtual town hall on 18 February that the initial water quality tests they conducted on 22-27 January “came back better than we expected.” But the water board cautioned that people should follow county advisories to stay out of the water near the burn site.

Dozens of scientists and volunteers from Heal The Bay and a myriad of private and public sector agencies have also been testing water and soil samples to see what levels of forever chemicals and heavy metals are present in the ocean, but toxic analysis can take 4-6 weeks and there’s very little data available.

At the Surfrider Foundation, volunteers test the ocean water all year long. But their small lab is testing for fecal bacteria – not arsenic. Now it’s too dangerous to expose volunteers in the burn areas, so the staff have partnered with Heal the Bay and the University of Southern California to process their water samples.

“All our community members are ocean lovers. We have the same questions they have,” said Eugenia Ermacora of the Surfrider Foundation. “It’s a concern, and everybody is asking, When can we go back? When is it safe? And I wish I had an answer.”

Chad White, a surfer who grew up in the Palisades and who protested against the EPA sorting site along the Pacific Coast Highway, said there’s no way he would surf there now – it would be too painful to look at the coast and be reminded of what has been lost. And there’s too much metal and other debris in the surf.

“It’s taken my desire to surf down to zero, not just because of the water quality, but just because of what’s happening,” he said over coffee in Topanga Canyon. He rode his first wave in 1977 at Will Rogers State Beach and taught his son to surf at age four and his wife at age 60.

“It’s earth-shattering to someone like me,” he said of the destruction along the coast. “That beach means something to me too, and I’m one person. There are tens of, maybe hundreds or thousands of us that utilize the beach every day.”

Many of Mr White’s friends lost their homes and he said people are traumatised to see what the landscape and coast around them looks like now.

“Every movie that you see, every film that makes anybody from any other part of the world want to come to California is based on their seeing that Pacific Coast Highway and those beautiful homes in Malibu, across along the beach. They’re all gone,” he said. “Now it’s a toxic waste dump.”

Newsom sent the request to congressional leaders in a letter on Friday. He said the funds would help both immediate and long-term recovery work.

“I’m asking Congress to have the back of the American people and provide disaster funding to help Californians recover and rebuild as soon as possible,” he wrote on social media.

The fires, which began 7 January, burned 37,469 acres and killed at least 26 people in the greater Los Angeles area.

The funds would be used for workforce recovery, tax incentives, wildfire resilience and private property redevelopment, Newsom said.

Under Newsom’s proposal, the largest share of the funds – 42% – would go to public assistance in debris removal and repair work.

“The impacted communities have experienced widespread devastation and the total impact on California’s economy will take years to fully qualify,” Newsom wrote in the letter.

Some 150,000 residents have been displaced since the fires broke out in early January.

Much of the Los Angeles area communities of the Pacific Palisades and Altadena were destroyed during the days of blazes.

The request drew support from some lawmakers who represent the area.

“This package will provide an injection of desperately needed federal aid for rebuilding homes, businesses, and community institutions, which will support the healing process for Angelenos suffering the grief and trauma of losing loved ones, homes, and every belonging they cherished,” Judy Chu, a Democratic congresswoman, said in a statement.

It’s not clear how the request will be received in Congress, where both chambers are controlled by Republicans with narrow majorities.

Last month, ahead of his visit to Los Angeles, President Donald Trump told Fox News he did not think the federal government should give California “anything” until it shifted water supply to the south of the state.

Following his visit to the Palisades, Trump described the destruction as “devastation”.

“I don’t think you can realize how rough it is, how devastating is until you see it,” Trump said. “I mean, I saw a lot of bad things on television, but the extent of it, the size of it, we flew over it in a helicopter.”

More than 20 artists from various genres are on the line-up for the FireAid benefit show, which is happening simultaneously at two large venues in the city.

Among those set to preform are Sting, P!nk, Lil Baby, Rod Stewart, Lady Gaga and Earth Wind & Fire. The lineup also includes multiple acts who were born in the LA area, including Billie Eilish, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and No Doubt.

Proceeds from the concert and donations during the show will go toward rebuilding communities and preventing future fires in the region.

At least 28 people died and more than 16,000 homes and businesses were destroyed in the fast-spreading, destructive fires that broke out in early January.

The shows are taking place at the Kia Forum and Intuit Dome, two large arenas about a mile apart, on Thursday evening. The shows will start about an hour and half apart and reportedly include two to four songs from each artist.

At Intuit Dome, those preforming include: Billie Eilish, Gracie Abrams, Jelly Roll, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Lil Baby, Olivia Rodrigo, Peso Pluma, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Tate McRae and Earth, Wind & Fire.

At the Kia Forum, those preforming include: Alanis Morissette, Anderson .Paak, Dawes, Graham Nash, Green Day, John Fogerty, Joni Mitchell, No Doubt, Pink, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stephen Stills, Stevie Nicks, the Black Crowes, and John Mayer.

Dave Matthews was also supposed to perform at the second show, but pulled out on Wednesday night, due to a “critical illness in the family”.

Organisers say performances will be staggered, and shown on large screens at both arenas so there’s no down time between acts.

The shows are also expected to feature special guests and have an emphasis on those who have been impacted by the fires and the first responders who helped douse the infernos.

Yes. Organisers say it will be streamed for free on platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Facebook, Instagram, Max, Netflix, Tudum, DirectTV, Paramount+, Peacock, NBC News Now, YouTube and KTLA.

The concert will also be shown in select AMC and Regal theatres across the US.

The music kicks off at 18:00 in LA (21:00 in New York, 02:00 Friday in the UK).

Viewers will be able to donate money to relief efforts during the show, either by text message or by visiting FireAidLA.org.

Donations will be overseen by the Annenberg Foundation, focusing on both short-term relief efforts and long-term fire prevention projects.

Additionally, Connie and Steve Ballmer – who own the LA Clippers basketball team, as well as the Intuit Dome and Forum – will match all donations made during the broadcast.

The Palisades and Eaton fires became the largest fires ever seen in the LA area earlier this month. Both erupted on 7 January as the region saw a strong wind event, making the small blazes in brushy, mountainous areas hard to contain.

Embers travelled miles, igniting whole communities and levelling neighbourhoods.

Nearly 7,000 structures were levelled in the Palisades fire in northwest LA. Another 9,400 were destroyed in the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles County. The fires also claimed a number of victims.

The visit, coming at the end of Trump’s first week back in office, took place as he continued to denounce the state emergency response being led by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom – one of Trump’s fiercest critics – and worries the president might withhold aid over policies in the liberal state.

Despite the political rivalry, Newsom greeted Trump on the tarmac as he emerged from Air Force One, arriving from North Carolina where he toured damage from Hurricane Helene, which rocked the western part of the state in September.

Trump’s visit came as new fires ignited in southern California, and local officials continue to contend with dry and windy weather conditions that favour fire growth.

Speaking to reporters after shaking hands with Newsom, Trump said: “I appreciate the governor coming out and meeting me”.

“We want to get it fixed,” he continued, telling Newsom that aftermath looks “like you got hit by a bomb”.

Newsom, who Trump has nicknamed “Newscum”, then thanked Trump for coming to visit, telling him: “We’re going to need your support, we’re going to need your help”.

“You were there for us during Covid, I don’t forget that, and I have all the expectations that we’ll be able to work together to get this speedy recovery,” Newsom continued.

Trump then toured the ruins of Pacific Palisades neighbourhood with his wife Melania, and then attended a roundtable discussion with local leaders, including LA Mayor Karen Bass. He vowed to sign an executive order that would pump water from northern parts of the state to the south.

He quarrelled briefly with Mayor Bass after she said that residents must be patient – because clean-up crews need time to clear “hazardous waste” such as toxic ash from things like lead, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and asbestos – before they can return to their homes.

“What’s hazardous waste? I mean, you’re going to have to define that,” Trump remarked, adding: “I just think you have to allow the people to go on their site and start the process tonight.”

New blazes – named Laguna, Sepulveda, Gibbel, Gilman and Border 2 – flared up on Thursday in the counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura and Riverside – all in southern California.

Firefighters have made progress in bringing the 10,000-acre Hughes Fire in Los Angeles under control, containing it by 79% since it broke out on Wednesday, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate.

Fires have devastated the US state over the last few weeks, with the Palisades and Eaton fires scorching a combined total of more than 37,000 acres and killing at least 28 people. Multiple neighbourhoods have been levelled, leaving more than 10,000 homes and businesses in ashes.

“Unfortunately, it’s a very sad period, but what makes you feel good is I met so many of the homeowners, and every one of them, a lot of them, and every one of them said to me, they want to rebuild,” Mr Trump said after flying over by helicopter and touring the ruins on foot.

“The federal government is standing behind you 100%,” he told local leaders.

Governor Newsom on Thursday announced a $2.5bn (£2bn) state-level aid package to deal with the fire damage.

Trump has been critical of the response to the California fires, threatening to withhold federal assistance unless the state does not change its water laws and implement laws requiring an ID to vote in elections.

“After that, I will be the greatest president that California has ever seen,” Trump said earlier.

California does not usually require ID to vote but does to register to vote.

Newsom’s office said in a statement on social media that: “Conditioning aid for American citizens is wrong”.

Brian Rice, the president of the California Professional Firefighters, told the BBC that he hopes Trump does not deny the state federal aid.

“The most important focus we have is getting federal aid into California, into these communities where people have lost their lives, their homes,” he said.

The city is set to host both the 2028 Summer Olympics and Fifa World Cup matches in 2026 – two global events that will thrust the Los Angeles region into the spotlight.

Trump has also been critical of the work done by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) – which is tasked with responding to such disasters – under the Biden administration.

He has suggested getting rid of the agency and letting US states manage disasters in their jurisdictions.

“Fema is a very expensive, in my opinion, mostly failed situation,” Trump told local leaders. “Each state should take care of their problem and get money from the federal government. It would be so much better.”

He made similar remarks during a visit to North Carolina, where at least 104 people were killed in a hurricane, claiming that “Fema was not doing their jobs” in that state.

He noted that some residents still don’t have power or hot water and it was “totally unacceptable”.

Asked by the BBC whether he would withhold federal aid to California, but not North Carolina, Trump said that the situations in the two states are different.

His response came after he touted the “big numbers” North Carolina had given him when he carried the state in the 2024 presidential election. He later noted that he had won the state in every general election and Republican primary contest in which he had been on the ballot.

Meanwhile, California has consistently voted against Trump in the past three presidential elections by substantial margins.

Los Angeles is under an elevated fire risk area today with brisk winds, according to BBC Weather.

Rain is expected over the weekend in the county, as well as snow up in the mountains of southern California.

However, while this will aid firefighting efforts, there are concerns that it could also cause flooding and dislodge debris from the fires, creating mudslides.

Specialist crews have been working to try and secure burned areas, while sandbags and other flood prevention supplies have been handed out to locals so that they can protect their properties.

Twenty-three people died in 2018 when mudslides hit the California town of Montecito, one of the areas that had recently been affected by the Thomas Fire.

The blazes – named Laguna, Sepulveda, Gibbel, Gilman and Border 2 – flared up on Thursday in the counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura and Riverside.

Firefighters have made progress in bringing the 10,000-acre Hughes Fire in Los Angeles under control, containing it by 36% since it broke out on Wednesday.

Fires have devastated the US state over the last few weeks, with the Palisades and Eaton fires scorching a combined total of more than 37,000 acres and killing at least 28 people.

This is the current state of the fires, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire):

• The Border 2 fire in San Diego spans 800 acres. Evacuation orders are currently in place
• The Laguna blaze in Ventura covers 94 acres and 70% of it has been brought under control
• The Sepulveda fire in Los Angeles spans 45 acres and is 60% contained. In an update posted on X, the Los Angeles Fire Department said they had stopped the blaze from spreading and evacuation orders had been lifted
• The Gibbel fire erupted in Riverside County, covering 15 acres. Fire crews have managed to stop the fire from progressing
• A bush fire dubbed Gilman in San Diego covers two acres, but the blaze’s progress has been stopped

Trump is set to visit Los Angeles on Friday to examine the wildfire damage, days after his inauguration.

He has been critical of the response to the fires, threatening to withhold federal assistance if California fails to alter the way it manages water supplies.

Trump has pointed the finger of blame at California Governor Gavin Newsom and repeatedly made claims that the state had water issues because it diverted supplies to save a small fish called a smelt.

When asked by US media if he would cut off funding to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), Trump said: “I might have to do that. Sometimes that’s the only thing you can do. California’s a great example of it.

“If you actually poll the people, they don’t want sanctuary cities, but Gavin Newsom does. And these radical left politicians do.”

Brian Rice, the president of the California Professional Firefighters, told the BBC that he hopes Trump does not deny the state federal aid.

“The most important focus we have is getting federal aid into California, into these communities where people have lost their lives, their homes,” he said.

“In the history of this country, federal disaster aid has never been tied to if you do this, you get that. This is the discussion that’s going on, it’s never happened.”

Governor Newsom on Thursday announced a $2.5bn (£2bn) state-level aid package to deal with the fire damage.

The Hughes fire – the third largest blaze in the state after the Palisades and Eaton fires – forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate after it broke out on Wednesday.

According to Cal Fire, crews managed to make progress in containing the fast-moving blaze on Thursday.

Los Angeles is under an elevated fire risk area today with brisk winds, according to BBC Weather.

Rain is expected over the weekend in the county, as well as snow up in the mountains of southern California.

However, while this will aid firefighting efforts, there are concerns that it could also cause flooding and dislodge debris from the fires, creating mudslides.

Specialist crews have been working to try and secure burned areas, while sandbags and other flood prevention supplies have been handed out to locals so that they can protect their properties.

Twenty-three people died in 2018 when mudslides hit the California town of Montecito, one of the areas that had recently been affected by the Thomas Fire.

The visit, coming at the end of Trump’s first week back in office, is taking place as he continues to denounce the state emergency response being led by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom – one of Trump’s fiercest critics.

Despite their political rivalry, Newsom greeted Trump on the tarmac as he emerged from Air Force One, arriving from North Carolina where he toured damage from Hurricane Helene, which rocked the western part of the state in September.

Trump’s visit comes as new fires erupt in southern California, and local officials continue to contend with dry and windy weather conditions that favour fire growth.

Speaking to reporters after shaking hands with Newsom, Trump said: “I appreciate the governor coming out and meeting me”.

“We want to get it fixed,” he continued, telling Newsom that aftermath looks “like you got hit by a bomb”.

Newsom, who Trump has nicknamed “Newscum”, then thanked Trump for coming to visit, telling him: “We’re going to need your support, we’re going to need your help”.

The new blazes – named Laguna, Sepulveda, Gibbel, Gilman and Border 2 – flared up on Thursday in the counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura and Riverside – all in southern California.

Firefighters have made progress in bringing the 10,000-acre Hughes Fire in Los Angeles under control, containing it by 56% since it broke out on Wednesday, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate.

Fires have devastated the US state over the last few weeks, with the Palisades and Eaton fires scorching a combined total of more than 37,000 acres and killing at least 28 people. Multiple neighbourhoods have been levelled, leaving more than 10,000 homes and businesses in ashes.

Governor Newsom on Thursday announced a $2.5bn (£2bn) state-level aid package to deal with the fire damage.

Trump has been critical of the response to the California fires, threatening to withhold federal assistance unless the state does not change its water laws and implement laws requiring an ID to vote in elections.

“After that, I will be the greatest president that California has ever seen,” Trump said.

California does not usually require ID to vote but does to register to vote.

Newsom’s office said in a statement on social media that: “Conditioning aid for American citizens is wrong”.

Brian Rice, the president of the California Professional Firefighters, told the BBC that he hopes Trump does not deny the state federal aid.

“The most important focus we have is getting federal aid into California, into these communities where people have lost their lives, their homes,” he said.

The city is set to host both the 2028 Summer Olympics and Fifa World Cup matches in 2026 – two global events that will thrust the Los Angeles region into the spotlight.

Trump has also been critical of the work done by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) – which is tasked with responding to such disasters – under the Biden administration.

He has suggested getting rid of the agency and letting US states manage disasters in their jurisdictions.

During his remarks to reporters on Friday in North Carolina, he said “Fema was not doing their jobs” in that state.

He noted that some residents still don’t have power or hot water and it was “totally unacceptable”.

Los Angeles is under an elevated fire risk area today with brisk winds, according to BBC Weather.

Rain is expected over the weekend in the county, as well as snow up in the mountains of southern California.

However, while this will aid firefighting efforts, there are concerns that it could also cause flooding and dislodge debris from the fires, creating mudslides.

Specialist crews have been working to try and secure burned areas, while sandbags and other flood prevention supplies have been handed out to locals so that they can protect their properties.

Twenty-three people died in 2018 when mudslides hit the California town of Montecito, one of the areas that had recently been affected by the Thomas Fire.

Fire crews have reported an increase in the public sharing images of fires before they are aware of them.

Members of the public were posting on local Facebook groups asking about “alarms sounding, smoke in an area or even small fires”, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue said.

A station manager at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue described it as a “worrying” trend.

Dave Andrews, station manager for fire control at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, said: “The concern is that if an incident isn’t reported to us it could escalate into something worse.”

But Mr Andrews said he thought the behaviour was because the public did not want to put extra strain on emergency services.

“You see reports in the news about everyone being stretched, however I’d like to instil the message that we are there for you.

He added it had been “slightly worrying” to see potential incidents on Facebook before the service had been alerted.

“If you do see a fire, hear an alarm sounding, just give us a call on 999 and we will respond. We’re there for you 24/7.

“They may think ‘Oh it’s just a bonfire we don’t want to bother anyone’, however we’d rather be safe than sorry.”

Thea Creasy, originally from Southwold, in Suffolk, has worked with horses for the past 30 years.

She moved to LA two decades ago and found herself caught up in the recent wildfires that have so far left 27 people dead and have destroyed more than 10,000 homes and properties.

Ms Creasy feared many of the rescued horses were now left without homes and faced long waits in evacuation centres.

Last Wednesday, Ms Creasy worked to rescue a friend’s horses near the Palisades area that had been blocked off for safety reasons.

While they had requested for permission from officials, they were denied access which Ms Creasy said was “very distressing”.

They took matters into their own hands finding other routes around the area and, despite being first mistaken for looters, they got to the horses and got them out as they watched smoke rise above a nearby hillside, Ms Creasy said.

They reached an evacuation centre in the Valley area, but it did not have space for the horses, as first reported by The Telegraph.

As they discussed where to go next, Ms Creasy said her “phone started going crazy”.

“I got all these texts and calls and another fire had started, this was the Kenneth fire which was affecting Calabasas,” she said.

“This was directly next to a street that I work on as a horse trainer that had several of my clients on.”

Ms Creasy believed there were about 100 horses that needed to be rescued here and she used social media to request help from others with trailers.

“The horse community in California is unbelievable, people just show up, everyone steps up,” she continued.

“It’s not just me doing this, I didn’t single handedly do this. It’s an incredible community of people.”

“As we got on to the freeway we could just see this massive cloud of black smoke and that’s when I really started to panic,” she continued.

“We had to get there as quickly as we could, sometimes these fires move so incredibly fast with these wind speeds.

“You really don’t have that much time.”

Ms Creasy said when they got to the street she found horse owners who “looked completely panicked” and were unsure if their horses had been saved.

However, they had no issues with any of the horses and none “caused a fuss” meaning they were able to evacuate them all.

Ms Creasy said there were now hundreds of horses and thousands of other animals without homes.

She added she would be volunteering at some of the centres to help support these animals.

The Hughes fire ignited about 45 miles north-west of the city of Los Angeles on Wednesday morning, near Castaic Lake in a mountainous area that borders several residential areas and schools.

The blaze grew to more than 9,200 acres in several hours on Wednesday, fuelled by winds and dry brush. No homes or businesses have been damaged, and fire officials expressed confidence about getting the blaze under control.

The new fire is located north of the two mammoth blazes – which are still burning – that destroyed multiple neighbourhoods in the Los Angeles area earlier this month.

Local news showed residents near the Hughes fire hosing down their homes and gardens with water and others rushing to evacuate neighbourhoods.

Orange flames lined the mountains as aircraft dropped water and flame retardant.

The region is once again under a red flag warning, which cautions of a high fire risk due to strong winds and dry, low-humid conditions.

Winds in the area were blowing around 20 to 30mph (32 to 48km), but could pick up, which would fan the blaze and make it harder for air crews to operate.

About 31,000 people in the area are under a mandatory evacuation order and another 23,000 have been warned they may have to flee, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. A jail in the area was evacuating nearly 500 inmates at the facility, he added.

The fire continued to grow as the sun set, but Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said he believed crews were making progress.

“The situation remains dynamic, and the fire remains a difficult fire to contain, although we are getting the upper hand,” he said.

Chief Marrone explained how different this fire is compared to the Palisades and Eaton fires, which killed at least 28 people and decimated more than 10,000 homes and businesses earlier this month.

He said it was a mix of lower winds – unlike the 70 to 90mph winds seen during the previous fires – and having so many helicopters and planes able to fight the blaze from above.

“I think that we’ve all been on edge over the last 16 days,” he said. “We were able to amass a lot of fire resources early on to change what this fire looks like.”

Ed Fletcher, who works for Cal Fire – California’s statewide fire agency – told the BBC that this fire was different than those earlier this month. The winds are not as strong yet, he said, and there are a lot of crews trying to tame the flames.

“It’s super dry and we know it will be increasingly windy later,” he said. “We’ll know more in a few hours.”

Mr Fletcher noted the area is not highly populated and current winds are blowing the fire toward Castaic Lake, which is acting as a buffer between the Castaic area – home to about 20,000 residents.

“If it jumps the lake,” he said, “it becomes a much more dynamic situation.”

One woman who evacuated her home told NBC 4 that she was stuck on Interstate 5, California’s primary transportation highway that runs through the state. Parts of the interstate in the area had been closed due to the fire.

“It looked like a cloud, but as you got close, it looked like we were driving into hell,” she said of the dark smoke and red flames she saw. “It was pretty terrifying to be honest with you.”

She acknowledged being on edge after watching the Palisades and Eaton fires burn nearby.

“I don’t know why they keep popping up,” she said. “It’s definitely a scary time in this area.”

Two other fires ignited Wednesday farther south near San Diego and Oceanside, officials said.

They are both smaller – 85 acres for the Lilac fire near Oceanside and 3.9 acres for the Center fire – but were burning in populated areas. Fire crews appeared to have a handle on both of the blazes and evacuation orders had been mostly lifted.

Dana Dierkes, a spokesperson for the Angeles National Forest, noted the winds and dry brush have made these recent fires much harder to fight.

“We don’t have a fire season in California. We have a fire year,” she said. “We’ve had wildfires in January before, but it’s exacerbated by the Santa Ana winds. The wind is a huge factor when we’ve had such a dry year.”

Rain is in the weekend forecast in the region, a welcome bit of news to douse the fire threat. But the rainfall is bringing new fears in the form of mudslides, flooding and landslides.

Areas touched by the recent fires are particularly at risk because torched grounds aren’t as absorbent.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Monday to help free up resources for flood and landslide preparation after the fires.

Crews have been filling thousands of sandbags for danger areas.

The hurricane-strength winds that initially fanned the flames and hampered rescue efforts have weakened into much lighter gusts.

Progress has been made in containing the two largest fires burning across a combined total of about 40,000 acres.

At least 25 people have been killed and more than 12,000 structures destroyed in some of the worst fires in memory to engulf America’s second biggest city.

The two largest fires, Eaton and Palisades, are still burning after more than a week – and firefighting help has been sought from Mexico and Canada.

Red flag warnings have been lifted by the National Weather Service (NWS), but could return in a few days.

There will be “a big improvement for tonight and tomorrow, though there’ll still be some lingering areas of concern,” Ryan Kittell of the NWS told news agency AFP.

Fire warnings remain critical with parts of southern California continuing to see an elevated risk despite the weakening winds and rising humidity, says BBC Weather forecaster Paul Goddard.

There is no rain forecast for California over the next week.

Officials are also keeping an eye on the Santa Ana winds, which have been blamed for stoking the blazes. The winds are forecast to return early next week, bringing a high risk of further red flag warnings.

Winds could bring gusts of 30-50mph (48-80km/h).

The Palisades Fire, the largest to burn, has seen no fire growth as firefighters work to contain the flames, according to Jim Hudson, a Cal Fire incident manager.

It has burned 24,000 acres. Over 20% has been contained as of Thursday morning.

“There are extreme hazards and extreme heat that still lie around the perimeter and the interior of this fire,” Mr Hudson said during a news conference in Malibu on Wednesday.

Mr Hudson added that 5,100 personnel had been assigned to contain the blaze.

“As we move forward we will continue to increase our containment when we feel it’s safe and that safety comes down to not only life and property, but also fire growth as well,” he added.

The 25th death from the fires was confirmed by the LA County Medical Examiner’s Office earlier this week. A number of other people remain missing.

Most of the victims have died in the Eaton Fire which has burned more than 14,000 acres to the city’s north. Firefighters have contained 45% of the fire.

Some of the victims of the Eaton Fire have now been allowed to return to their homes, but tens of thousands of people are still under evacuation orders – where night-time curfews also apply.

Thousands of homes have been destroyed in one of the costliest natural disasters in American history.

An extreme weather attribution study from climate scientists at ‘Climameter‘ has concluded that the Californian wildfires have been fuelled by meteorological conditions strengthened by human-induced climate change.

The study found that current conditions have been warmer, drier and windier compared with the past, in the areas affected by the fires.