LOS ANGELES >> The two biggest wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area have burned at least 10,000 homes, buildings and other structures, officials said Thursday as they urged more people to heed evacuation orders after a new blaze ignited and quickly grew.

The fast-moving Kenneth Fire started in the late afternoon in the San Fernando Valley just 2 miles from a school serving as a shelter for fire evacuees and moved into neighboring Ventura County by the evening.

Only hours earlier officials expressed encouragement after firefighters aided by calmer winds and help from crews from outside the state saw the first signs of successfully beating back the region’s devastating wildfires that have killed seven people so far.

“We are expecting this fire to rapidly spread due to high winds,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said, echoing the forecast that called for winds to strengthen Thursday evening through Friday morning.

The orders came as Los Angeles County officials announced the Eaton Fire near Pasadena that started Tuesday night has burned more than 5,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. To the west in Pacific Palisades, the largest of the fires burning in the LA area has destroyed over 5,300 structures.

All of the large fires that have broken out this week in the Los Angeles area are located in a roughly 25-mile band north of downtown, spreading a sense of fear and sadness across the nation’s second-largest city.

Dozens of blocks were flattened to smoldering rubble in scenic Pacific Palisades. Only the outlines of homes and their chimneys remained. In Malibu, blackened palm strands were all that was left above debris where oceanfront homes once stood.

At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and groceries were lost. So too were the Will Rogers’ Western Ranch House and Topanga Ranch Motel, local landmarks dating to the 1920s. The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage or specifics about how many structures burned.

Firefighters made significant gains Thursday at slowing the spread of the major fires, but containment remained far out of reach.

Crews also knocked down a blaze in the Hollywood Hills with the help of water drops from aircraft, allowing an evacuation to be lifted Thursday.

Winds, long fire season

Fire officials don’t yet know the cause of the fires but are actively investigating.

Many of the towering fires that began Tuesday were fueled by powerful Santa Ana winds, which gusted to more than 70 mph in some spots. The winds dropped Thursday, but the National Weather Service warned that even the reduced gusts could still spread fire rapidly and the wind is expected to strengthen again Thursday evening. Another round of strong winds may form Tuesday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said California has deployed more than 1,400 firefighting personnel to battle the blazes. Oregon, Washington, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona dispatched teams to assist.

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 of rain since early May.

Enormity of destruction emerges

Right now, it’s impossible to quantify the extent of the destruction other than “total devastation and loss,” said Barbara Bruderlin, head of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce.

“There are areas where everything is gone, there isn’t even a stick of wood left, it’s just dirt,” Bruderlin said.

Of the seven deaths so far, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley confirmed two were in the Palisades Fire. County officials said the Eaton Fire had killed five.

Cadaver dogs and crews are searching through rubble, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

Anthony Mitchell, a 67-year-old amputee, and his son, Justin, who had cerebral palsy, were waiting for an ambulance to come, but they did not make it out, Mitchell’s daughter, Hajime White, told The Washington Post.

Shari Shaw told KTLA that she tried to get her 66-year-old brother, Victor Shaw, to evacuate Tuesday night but he wanted to stay and fight the fire. Crews found his body with a garden hose in his hand.

On Thursday, recovery crews pulled a body from rubble of what was a beachfront residence in Malibu on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway. A charred washer and dryer were among the few things that remained.

Evacuations, school closures and arrests

At least 180,000 people were under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 45 square miles — roughly the size of San Francisco. The Palisades Fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles’ history.

All schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest, will be closed Friday because of the heavy smoke wafting over the city and ash raining down in parts, and classes will not resume until the conditions improve, officials said.

At least 20 arrests have been made for looting, and the city of Santa Monica declared a curfew because of the lawlessness, officials said. Luna said to protect properties national guard troops would be stationed near the areas ravaged by fire and a curfew was expected to go into effect from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m., starting as soon as Thursday.

More than 285,000 customers were without electricity in Southern California, nearly half of them in Los Angeles County, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide.

Sewer, water and power infrastructure across the region has been significantly damaged, officials said.

Flames destroyed the homes of several celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton.

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.

Federal funding

President Joe Biden said during a White House briefing with staff Thursday that he was making federal resources available and approved additional funding to help California battle the fires, saying they were the “worst fires to ever hit Los Angeles. Ever.”

The new funding will cover 100% of the cost for 180 days for hazardous materials removal, temporary shelters, first responder salaries and measures to protect life, he said.