Firefighters are battling to control a series of major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and sent thousands of people f

With flames driven by hurricane-force winds, “it feels like Armageddon,” said one woman who was forced to evacuate. “It’s just smoke and darkness.”

As wildfires ravage the Los Angeles area, destroying neighborhoods and forcing tens of thousands to evacuate, the impact of the devastation continues to grow. At least five people have died and several wind-driven fires remain largely uncontained. The largest, known as the Palisades Fire, is the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history.

A terrifying wave of wildfires squeezing Los Angeles on multiple fronts pushed closer to the symbolic heart of the U.S. film industry on Thursday after a new blaze ignited in the hills overlooking Hollywood Boulevard and its Walk of Fame.

The Hollywood Hills blazed uncontrollably on Thursday morning as the worst wildfires in the history of Los Angeles raged across the city and deep into the storied heartland of the American film industry.