Firefighting aircraft have dropped water and fire retardant to stem the eastward spread of wildfires in Los Angeles as on-the-ground efforts intensify amid warnings of powerful winds.
In the past 24 hours, the Palisades Fire spread over 1000 acres, officials reported, and consumed more homes.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner's office confirmed on Saturday the death toll from the wildfires had risen to 16.
— L.A. County Fire Department (@LACoFDPIO) #EatonFire | Incident Update 1.11.25 7:00 PM pic.twitter.com/UBdOyl6zp6January 12, 2025
Five of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire, and 11 resulted from the Eaton Fire, the coroner's office said in a statement Saturday evening.
The toll is expected to mount as firefighters conduct house-to-house searches.
Fire official Todd Hopkins told reporters on Saturday 11 per cent of the Palisades fire was now contained but more than 8900 hectares had burned.
Hopkins said the Palisades Fire had spread into the Mandeville Canyon neighbourhood and threatened to jump into Brentwood, an upscale neighbourhood, and the San Fernando Valley.
The National Weather Service warned of worsening Santa Ana winds that it predicted would pick up on Saturday night into Sunday morning in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and again on late Monday through to Tuesday morning, bringing sustained winds of up to almost 50km/h and gusts of up to 112km/h.
"We're in a continued period of critical fire weather through Wednesday," meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld said.
The weather service has warned of fierce winds returning before an easing on Wednesday. (AP PHOTO)
Conditions were expected to moderate by Thursday.
Evacuation orders throughout the Los Angeles area now cover 153,000 residents with another 166,000 warned they might have to evacuate, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
Luna said his office had dispatched 40 search and rescue workers to assist other agencies and help reunite families that have been separated.
Cadaver dogs are also searching for the remains of victims.
As state and local officials grappled with the worst cluster of fires in Los Angeles' history, President Joe Biden spoke by phone with some of them to get an update on their efforts and was also briefed by his senior aides on federal resources that were being dispatched.
Biden's major disaster declaration unlocked federal assistance for those affected by the wildfires.
The fires have left people's homes and possessions in smouldering ruins. (AP PHOTO)
Federal Emergency Management Agency officials were at the Pasadena Convention Centre helping residents navigate aid applications.
Spokesman Michael Hart said support could range from funding to help with home repairs to money to replace lost food or medication.
The assistance could be provided within a matter of days, he said.
Los Angeles Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger told reporters she invited President-elect Donald Trump to visit the county to get a first-hand look at the destruction.
Six simultaneous blazes have ripped across Los Angeles County neighbourhoods since Tuesday, damaging or destroying 12,000 structures.
The fierce Santa Ana winds that fanned the infernos eased on Friday night but the Palisades Fire on the city's western edge was heading in a new direction as winds came off the Pacific Ocean.
The two biggest wildfires have consumed an area two and a half times the land area of Manhattan. (AP PHOTO)
The fires have razed whole neighbourhoods to the ground, leaving just the smouldering ruins of what had been people's homes and possessions.
On Friday morning, hundreds of people streamed into a parking lot near the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena for donated clothing, nappies and bottled water.
Beyond those who lost their homes, tens of thousands remained without power, and millions of people were exposed to poorer air quality, as the fires lofted traces of metals, plastics and other synthetic materials.
The two biggest fires in Palisades and Eaton combined had consumed more than 14,500 hectares - two and a half times the land area of Manhattan.
Seven neighbouring states, the federal government and Canada and Mexico have rushed aid and firefighters to California, bolstering aerial teams and crews on the ground attacking fire lines with hand tools and hoses.
Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic loss at $US135 billion ($A220 billion) to $US150 billion ($A244 billion), portending an arduous recovery and soaring homeowners' insurance costs.