Firefighters make progress slowing wildfires while Los Angeles grapples with scope of devastation

"While we are still facing significant threats, I am hopeful that the tide is turning," Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said during a news conference Thursday morning.

Water dropped from aircraft helped fire crews quickly seize control of the fires in the Hollywood Hills and Studio City, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said. Much of the widespread destruction around the city occurred Tuesday after those aircraft were grounded due to high winds.

Wind gusts were expected to strengthen Thursday evening through Friday morning, with yet another round of strong winds expected next week, raising concerns that the conditions could worsen, the National Weather Service said.

But Thursday's daytime forecast could provide a window for firefighters — including crews pouring in from neighboring states and Canada — to make progress in reining in blazes that have killed at least five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and caused thousands of people to flee their homes.

The metropolitan region, home to 13 million people, was marred by haunting scenes of destruction: At one spot in Malibu, blackened palm strands towered over debris where homes with ocean views once stood.

Flames from the Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills soared Wednesday night not far from the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the TCL Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds. Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said firefighters were able to keep the blaze in check because "we hit it hard and fast and Mother Nature was a little nicer to us."

Fire officials said Thursday that they don't yet know the cause of the fires but are actively investigating.

Wind fuels the fires

Earlier in the week, hurricane-force winds with gusts up to 80 mph (129 kph) blew embers, igniting block after block in the coastal neighborhood of Pacific Palisades and in Altadena, a community near Pasadena.

Thousands of homes, businesses and other structures have been destroyed in those blazes, known as the Palisades and Eaton fires. Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said the Palisades Fire alone has burned thousands of coastal structures, and that the damage is still being calculated.

The five deaths recorded so far were from those two fires. Cadaver dogs and search crews are searching through rubble and the death toll is expected to rise, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

While those two fires were no longer spreading significantly, both remained at 0% containment, officials said.

In Pasadena, Fire Chief Chad Augustin said Wednesday that the city's water system was stretched and further hampered by power outages, but even without those issues, firefighters would not have been able to stop the fast-moving blaze because of the erratic wind gusts.

Still, questions have been raised about why some hydrants ran dry and what caused the water system to buckle when it was needed most.

180,000 people are ordered to evacuate

In Pacific Palisades, a hillside area along the coast dotted with celebrity homes, block after block of California Mission Style homes and bungalows were reduced to charred remains.

Roughly 180,000 people are under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 45 square miles (117 square kilometers) — roughly the size of San Francisco. The Palisades Fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles' history.

At least 20 arrests have been made for looting and the city of Santa Monica declared a curfew Wednesday night because of the lawlessness, officials said.

Actors lost homes

Flames destroyed the homes of several celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton. Several Southern California landmarks are gone.

Jamie Lee Curtis pledged $1 million to start a "fund of support" for those affected by the fires that touched all economic levels from the city's wealthy to its working class.

A longer fire season

The main fires grew rapidly in different areas that had two things in common: densely packed homes in places that are choked with dry vegetation that was primed to burn. Flames moved so quickly that many barely had time to escape.

California's wildfire season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change, according to recent data.

Dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which has not seen more than 0.1 inches (2.5 millimeters) of rain since early May.

Picking up the pieces with nowhere to go

Robert Lara sifted through the remains of his home in Altadena on Thursday with tears in his eyes, hoping to find a safe containing a set of earrings that once belonged to his great-great grandmother.

"All our memories, all our sentimental attachments, things that were gifted from generation to generation to generation are now gone," he said.

His mother and uncle lost their homes too.

"I haven't slept for two whole days now, and I keep asking myself what do I do? Where do I start?" he said. "We're lost."