A fast-moving fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday night, threatening one of Los Angeles’ most iconic spots as firefighters battled to get under control three other major blazes that killed five people, put 100,000 people under evacuation orders and ravaged the city from the Pacific Coast to inland Pasadena.

The Sunset fire was burning near the Hollywood Bowl and about a mile from the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The streets around Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds were packed with stop-and-go traffic as sirens blared and low-flying helicopters soared by on their way to dump water on the flames. People toting suitcases left hotels on foot, while some onlookers walked towards the flames, recording the fire on their phones.

More than 1,000 structures, mostly homes, have been destroyed, and more than 130,000 people are under evacuation orders in the metropolitan area. Winds eased up some Wednesday, a day after hurricane-force winds blew embers through the air, igniting block after block, and hundreds of firefighters from other states have arrived to help, but the four fires burning out of control showed the danger is far from over.

More than half a dozen schools in the area were either damaged or destroyed, including Palisades Charter High School, which has been featured in many Hollywood productions, including the 1976 horror movie “Carrie” and the TV series “Teen Wolf,” officials said.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said air operations were dousing flames. She warned they still faced “erratic winds,” though not of hurricane force like Tuesday evening, when much of the destruction occurred.

In Pasadena, Fire Chief Chad Augustin said between 200 and 500 structures have been damaged or lost from the Eaton fire that started Tuesday night when hurricane-force winds whipped up flames.

He said the water system was stretched and was further hampered by power outages but even without those issues, firefighters would not have been able to stop the fire as embers ignited block after block as they flew through the air.

“We were not stopping that fire last night,” he said. “Those erratic wind gusts were throwing embers for multiple miles ahead of the fire.”

On the Pacific Coast west of downtown Los Angeles, a major fire in the Pacific Palisades leveled entire blocks, reducing grocery stores and banks to rubble. More than 1,000 structures were destroyed in the Palisades fire, the most destructive in the modern history of L.A. Many people were hurt, including first responders, L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said.

The scope of the destruction was just becoming clear: Block after block of California Mission Style homes and bungalows were reduced to nothing but charred remains dotted by stone fireplaces and blackened arched entryways. Ornate iron railing wrapped around the smoldering frame of one house. The apocalyptic scenes spread for miles.

Swimming pools were blackened with soot, and sports cars slumped on melted tires.

As flames moved through his neighborhood, Jose Velasquez sprayed down his Altadena home with water as embers rained down on the roof. He managed to save their home, which also houses their family business of selling churros, a Mexican pastry. Others weren’t so lucky. Many of his neighbors were at work when they lost their homes.

“So we had to call a few people and then we had people messaging, asking if their house was still standing,” he said. “We had to tell them that it’s not.”

Beyond the burned areas, residents worked wearing N95 masks, unable to escape the toxic smoke wafting over huge sections of the city.

Like ‘living inside of a fireplace’

The flames marched toward highly populated and affluent neighborhoods, including Calabasas and Santa Monica, home to California’s rich and famous.

In Palisades Village, the public library, two major grocery stores, a pair of banks and several boutiques were destroyed.

“It’s just really weird coming back to somewhere that doesn’t really exist anymore,” said Dylan Vincent, who returned to the neighborhood to retrieve some items and saw that his elementary school had burned down and that whole blocks had been flattened.

The fires have consumed a total of about 42 square miles — nearly the size of the entire city of San Francisco.

Jennie Girardo, a 39-year-old producer and director from Pasadena, said she was alarmed when her neighbor came to check on her.

“When I opened my door, it smelled like I was living inside of a fireplace,” she said. “Then I also started to see the ash. And I’ve never seen that in my life. Like raining ash.”

Fast-moving flames

Flames moved so quickly that many barely had time to escape. Police sought shelter inside their patrol cars, and residents at a senior living center were pushed in wheelchairs and hospital beds down a street to safety in the foothills northeast of L.A.

In the race to get to safety in Pacific Palisades, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot.

Higher temps, less rain

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. Rains that usually end fire season are often delayed, meaning fires can burn through the winter months, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association.

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 inch of rain since early May.

The winds increased to 80 mph Wednesday, according to reports received by the National Weather Service. Forecasters predicted wind gusts of 35 to 55 mph, which could rise higher in the mountains and foothills. Fire conditions could last through Friday.

L.A.’s most destructive fire

President Joe Biden pledged to sign a federal emergency declaration after arriving at a Santa Monica fire station for a briefing with Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Later Wednesday, Biden canceled the final overseas trip of his presidency just hours before he was set to depart for Rome and the Vatican, choosing to remain in Washington to monitor the fire response. He had been scheduled to leave Thursday afternoon, after eulogizing former President Jimmy Carter at a memorial service in Washington, for the three-day trip to meet with Pope Francis and Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Newsom posted on X that California had deployed more than 1,400 firefighting personnel to combat the blazes. He also dispatched National Guard troops to help.

Several Hollywood studios suspended production, and Universal Studios closed its theme park between Pasadena and Pacific Palisades. The Getty Villa, a campus devoted to art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome, said its structures and collection were safe.

With an estimated 1,000 structures destroyed and the fire still active, the Palisades fire is by far the city’s most destructive in modern history, topping the Sayre fire in 2008 that destroyed just over 600 structures, according to statistics kept by the Wildfire Alliance, a partnership between the city’s fire department and MySafe:LA. Structures refers to homes and other buildings.

Southern California Edison shut off service to thousands because of safety concerns related to high winds and fire risks. More than 1.5 million customers could face shutoffs depending on weather conditions, the utility said.