A series of ferocious wildfires erupted across the Los Angeles area on Tuesday, fuelled by powerful winds and dry conditions.

At least five people have been killed and dozens more injured, with many of the remaining fires not contained at all by the emergency services.

Some 130,000 people are now under mandatory evacuation orders across the city.

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Los Angeles County Fire chief Anthony Marrone estimated that 1,000 homes and businesses have burned in the Palisades fire, the largest of the blazes in the south of the city, alone and that 100 more have been destroyed in the Eaton fire.

A preliminary review from insurance analysts at JP Morgan estimated that losses from the fires could top $10bn (£8.1bn), Sky News’ US partner network NBC News reported.

Here is everything we know about the blazes, in what fire chiefs have called a “tragic” chapter for the city.

Where are the fires, and how big are they?

There are currently five major fires raging across LA.

Here is a list of how big they are and how “contained” they are – referring to what degree the fire department has them under control.

Palisades fire

A bush fire started the blaze in Pacific Palisades, a Los Angeles County neighbourhood east of Malibu, on Tuesday morning.

By Wednesday afternoon, it had grown to more than 15,000 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Currently, it is covering at least 17,234 acres and is 0% contained by firefighters.

Eaton fire

The Eaton fire ignited Tuesday night near a canyon in the sprawling national forest lands north of downtown LA and had exploded to more than 10,000 acres by Wednesday, according to the US Forest Service.

Currently, it covers at least 10,600 acres and is 0% contained.

Hurst fire

Also on Tuesday night a fire broke out in Sylmar, a suburban neighbourhood north of San Fernando, after a brush fire.

It quickly grew to 500 acres, and currently covers 855 acres. It is 10% contained.

Lidia fire

The Lidia fire broke out near the community of Acton in a region between the Sierra Pelona and San Gabriel mountains.

Currently, at least 348 acres are affected by the blaze. It is 40% contained.

Sunset fire

The Sunset fire was sparked in the Hollywood Hills of LA, near Runyon Canyon, shortly before 6pm local time on Wednesday, prompting mandatory evacuations.

The blaze currently covers 43 acres and is 0% contained.

The Woodley fire in Sepulveda Basin was “under control” before it grew beyond 30 acres, while a blaze that engulfed Hollywood’s Studio City has now been extinguished, with no casualties.

Why is this happening in January – and when is wildfire season?

The typical wildfire season in the US usually kicks off mid-year, around May.

But the main culprit for the current blazes in LA is the Santa Ana winds – extreme, dry winds that are common in colder winter months.

Wind speeds of up to 100mph work to spread the flames and coupled with a lack of humidity in the air, and patches of dry vegetation, the ground is much more flammable.

These winds create an “atmospheric blow-dryer” effect that will “dry things out even further”, Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), said.

The longer the extreme wind persists, the drier the vegetation will become, he said.

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California governor Gavin Newsom said fire season has become “year-round in the state of California” despite the state not “traditionally” seeing fires at this time of year – apparently alluding to the impact of climate change.

Why are firefighters running out of water?

The demanding nature of the fires has led to reports that fire hydrants across the city have gone dry.

Wildfire attorney Ari Friedman, a partner and trial attorney at the Los Angeles-based law firm Wisner Baum, put this down to the increased demand simply overwhelming the supply.

But, he said, this “doesn’t immediately point to an equipment or water line failure as a lawyer might think of it”.

Mr Friedman added that the Palisades area, the site of the biggest fire, is served by water tanks because of the area’s high elevation.

Which celebrities have been impacted?

Hollywood celebrities are among the thousands of people who have been evacuated, while some have said they have lost their homes completely due to the fires.

The likes of Paris Hilton and actor Billy Crystal both described the anguish of losing the homes they raised their children in, with the socialite saying she was “heartbroken beyond words” to see her Malibu home “burn to the ground on live TV”.

Oscar-winning songwriter Diane Warren said she had also lost her home of 30 years in the fires, while The Hills stars Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag also confirmed they had lost their home in the fires.

American presenter and actress Ricki Lake posted on Instagram to say she had lost her “dream home”, the same place she and her husband got married three years ago.

Sky News’ US correspondent Martha Kelner reported that Tom Hanks, Ben Affleck and Reese Witherspoon were all evacuated as wildfires continued to spread in the Pacific Palisades suburb of LA – an area known to be home to billionaires and A-listers.

The havoc caused by the fires has also led to the cancellation of several key dates in the awards season calendar.

The annual Critics Choice Awards ceremony was due to take place this weekend, but has been postponed by two weeks, to 26 January, “due to the catastrophic fires”, organisers said in a statement.

While the nomination voting window for The Oscars has reportedly been extended by two days.

Production on several television programmes, including America’s Got Talent, Loot, Ted, Suits: LA, Happy’s Place and Hacks, is also at a standstill.

What have Trump and Biden said?

The White House said on Wednesday that President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for California that will clear the way for federal funds and resources to be accessed in recovery efforts.

A statement said the president is “focused on mobilising life-saving and life-sustaining resources across the region,” and that he is “praying for those who lost loved ones, had property damaged, were injured, and for everyone affected by this and other devastating fires in the area”.

He has also cancelled his coming trip to Italy to deal with the wildfires.

Meanwhile, president-elect Donald Trump took aim at California’s governor Mr Newsom, repeating claims that firefighters did not have enough water in their hydrants to tackle the blaze.

“It’s a mistake of the governor, and you can say the administration,” he said on Wednesday evening.

“They don’t have any water. They didn’t have water in the fire hydrants. The governor has not done a good job.”

When will the fire weather end?

The winds that have been fuelling the blazes are beginning to drop, but dangerous conditions are expected to persist through until at least Friday, NBC said.

Climate scientist Daniel Swain said some of the driest vegetation will come after the strongest winds have died down, warning: “So the reality is that there’s going to be a very long period of high fire risk.”

A warning for high wind remains in place for parts of greater Los Angeles, including the Malibu coast and the Santa Monica Mountains, according to the National Weather Service.

The forecaster suggests wind speeds could reach up to 60 mph.

Red flag warnings – which are issued by the National Weather Service to warn the public and authorities of imminent weather conditions that may result in extreme fire – are also set to remain in place until at least 6pm local time on Friday.

Humidity levels are expected to stay low, and they could dip into single digits in some areas into Friday.

Pacific Palisades is one of Los Angeles’s most expensive and exclusive suburbs, home to film stars and billionaires.

The broad boulevards are framed by palm trees and gated mansions with swimming pools.

But it’s in the grips of one of mother nature’s terrifying levellers, a firestorm which is ripping through community after community, raging and unremitting.

Follow live: 30,000 told to flee

A billowing cloud of black smoke loomed over the main shopping street with its fancy restaurants and designer shops, threatening to destroy what many here consider to be their slice of paradise.

It is a reminder of the destructive power of this sort of weather.

Reza, a lifelong resident of Pacific Palisades, was evacuating with what belongings he could fit in his SUV.

“This is surreal, this is unbelievable,” he said.

“I’ve lived here all my life but this is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. This is the worst of the worst.

“I’ve never seen it with these winds, we just keep praying that the direction changes. But if the direction changes it’s to the detriment of somebody else, that’s the horrible part about it all.”

January is not normally wildfire season, but these are not ordinary circumstances, the blazes being propelled by the strongest winds in southern California for more than a decade, fuelled by drought conditions.

Authorities are warning that the winds will grow stronger overnight, meaning that conditions will likely worsen before they get better.

Police and the fire department went door to door, urging people to evacuate or risk losing their lives.

On the main road out of town, there was gridlock traffic, with some abandoning their cars to flee on foot.

On Mount Holyoake Avenue, Liz Lerner, an 84-year-old with congestive heart failure, was on her driveway and visibly panicked.

“I don’t drive, and I’m by myself,” she said.

“I have no relatives, I’m 100% alone and I don’t know what to do. My father built this house in 1949, this is my family home and this is the end. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

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Around the corner, another man was hosing down his multi-million dollar home in a bid to save his property from the fire bounding towards it from a nearby canyon.

“I can’t decide whether to evacuate or stay and carry on hosing down my house,” he said.

“It’s hard to know which way the flames are heading.”

Other blazes were breaking out across LA with firefighting planes grounded because of winds which are growing stronger by the hour.

More homes, neighbourhoods and lives are under threat from this perfect and petrifying storm.

Since winning re-election, president-elect Donald Trump has expressed an interest in acquiring Greenland and the Panama Canal.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Mr Trump said he could not assure reporters that military or economic coercion would not be used to try and gain control of both areas.

“I can say this, we need them for economic security,” he said.

The two locations, which are nowhere near each other geographically, pose different interests to the incoming president.

But his desire to seize them both has caused immense backlash.

Why does Trump want Greenland?

Greenland is the world’s largest island and a semiautonomous territory of Denmark. With a population of 57,000, it has been part of Denmark for 600 years.

It is also a founding member of NATO and is home to a large US military base.

Straddling the Arctic circle between the US, Russia and Europe, the island offers a unique geopolitical advantage, that America has eyed for more than 150 years.

It’s even more valuable as the Arctic opens up more to shipping and trade.

The idea of purchasing Greenland is not a new idea for Mr Trump, as it came up during his first term in office. But he has since reiterated the benefit it could have for America’s national security.

“We need greater national security purposes,” Mr Trump said. “I’ve been told that for a long time, long before I even ran.

“People really don’t even know that Denmark has any legal right to it, but if they do, they should give it up because we need it for national security.”

Mr Trump’s claim to the island coincided with a visit by his son, Donald Trump Jr, who was in Greenland filming for a documentary, Sky News US partner network, NBC News said.

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Rich in natural resources

As well as its location, Greenland holds rich deposits of various natural resources.

Locked inside the island are valuable rare earth minerals needed for telecommunications, as well as uranium, billions of untapped barrels of oil and a vast supply of natural gas that used to be inaccessible but is becoming less so.

Many of the same minerals are currently mostly supplied by China, so other countries such as the US are interested in tapping into available resources closer to home.

A front-row seat to the climate crisis

More than the oil, gas or minerals, Greenland has a lot of ice – and provides a front-row seat to the globe’s climate crisis.

If that ice melts, it would reshape coastlines across the globe and has the potential to dramatically shift weather patterns.

In fact, Greenland holds enough ice that if it all melts, the world’s seas would rise by 24ft (7.4m).

Greenland also influences hurricane and winter storm activity. Because of its mountains of ice, it has the power to change patterns in the jet stream, which brings storms across the globe and dictates daily weather.

Often, especially in winter, a blocking system of high pressure off Greenland causes Arctic air to plunge to the west and east, sweeping across North America and Europe, winter weather expert Judah Cohen told the Associated Press.

What effect could this have on the UK?

British politician and security expert, Mike Martin, explained on X that the seas between Greenland and the UK – which has Iceland in the middle – are “utterly vital” for NATO.

He explained that during the Cold War, the UK would often have 50 ships stationed in the area to look after the Greenland-Iceland-UK (GIUK) gap – which is the “only sensible route” that the Russian northern fleet has to get into the Atlantic Ocean.

Both the UK and Denmark continue to have a shared security interest in the gap.

The UK government website states that as part of the UK’s Arctic Policy Framework, it will continue to develop military capability in collaboration with Denmark, to allow it to operate in the region and in order to safeguard UK interests and those of its allies.

However, if overtaken by the US, this collaboration could be affected.

‘Greenland is not for sale’

Addressing Mr Trump’s comments in an interview with Danish broadcaster TV2, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she did not believe the US would use military or economic power to secure control over Greenland.

“Greenland is not for sale,” Ms Frederiksen said, adding: “We need to stay calm and stick to our principles.”

Referring to the US as Denmark’s “most important and closest ally” she said she welcomed the US taking a greater interest in the Arctic region, but said it would have to be done in a way that is “respectful of the Greenlandic people”.

In the past, Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede has called for independence from Denmark, but said he has no interest in the island nation becoming part of the US.

While Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament, added: “Most people don’t want it.

“I think some people find it quite disrespectful. And the way it has been done, and just the fact that you’re saying that you can buy another country.”

French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot also weighed in on the matter, saying on Wednesday that the European Union would not let “other nations of the world attack its sovereign borders, whoever they are”.

“If you’re asking me whether I think the United States will invade Greenland, my answer is no. But have we entered into
a period of time when it is survival of the fittest? Then my answer is yes,” Mr Barrot said.

Why does Trump want the Panama Canal?

The Panama Canal is a waterway that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It acts as a shortcut route, saving time and costs for transporting goods, according to the Embassy of Panama website.

Under the Jimmy Carter administration, control of the canal was handed from the US to Panama in 1979, with the US ending its joint partnership in controlling the strategic waterway in 1999.

It is now administered by the Panama Canal Authority, an autonomous government entity, although a Hong Kong-based contractor operates two ports connected to it, NBC reported.

Mr Trump has claimed that the US is being treated unfairly when it is “overcharged” higher rates for its ships to sail the canal than those of other countries.

He claimed that Panama is in “violation” of a deal with the US and that “China is basically taking it over”.

“We gave the Panama Canal to Panama. We didn’t give it to China,” Mr Trump said on Tuesday. “They’ve abused that gift.”

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino denied in a video statement last month that China has influence over the canal and shot down the idea of the US taking back authority over it.

“Every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will continue to be so,” he said.

Could Trump actually do it?

The incoming president has offered few details on how he might carry out his plans to grow the US footprint, even as he promised throughout the news conference to return the country to a “golden age” of improved national security and “common sense”.

If Greenland becomes independent, it could choose to become associated with the US.

One option could be to form a so-called “free association” pact with America, similar to the status of Pacific island nations Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau.

Mr Trump has also suggested he would impose tariffs on Denmark if it resists his offer to purchase the island.

This could make things difficult for Danish companies, particularly drugmakers like Novo Nordisk, which sells the weight loss drug Wegovy and the type 2 diabetes medicine Ozempic, according to investment magazine Barron’s.

Eswar Prasad, a professor of trade policy at Cornell University, told the magazine that the Trump administration could tailor specific tariffs to target products made by Danish companies regardless of where they are manufactured.