At least 10 die as wildfires blaze around Los Angeles

Firefighters in Los Angeles on Friday had only contained a small fraction of the largest fires burning around the city, according to Cal Fire. The Palisades Fire was only 8% contained and the Eaton Fire was 0% contained Friday morning after spreading over more than 34,000 acres combined.

Smaller fires also raged. A new fire called the Kenneth Fire broke out Thursday afternoon just north of the Palisades Fire and quickly grew to cover nearly 1,000 acres. The blaze was 35% contained Friday morning. Firefighters reported that two other small fires, the Hurst Fire and the Lidia Fire, were 37% and 75% contained, respectively. A group of nearly 800 prisoners from the Conservation Camp Program of the California Department of Corrections have joined firefighters to battle the blazes.

How much destruction have the fires caused? As of Friday morning, at least 10 people have died in the fires, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner. Officials have not named the victims pending identification of the bodies and notification of next of kin, and the death toll is expected to grow as authorities gain access to the hardest hit areas. The fires destroyed at least 10,000 structures as authorities ordered tens of thousands of people to evacuate. Meanwhile, powerful winds were expected to continue through Friday. Air quality remained hazardous in the Los Angeles area. 

Dig deeper: Read our earlier coverage about the fires raging in southern California.