The Eaton fire in Altadena started near a nature preserve just before 6:30 p.m. The flames spread so rapidly that staff at a senior care center had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot where they waited in their bedclothes for ambulances and other vehicles to take them to safety.

On Tuesday, the wildfire affecting the Los Angeles and Santa Monica area in Southern California swept through the enclave known as Pacific Palisades, famous for its beaches, where

Firefighters finally started gaining control over two major wildfires on the eastern and western flanks of Los Angeles on Friday as fierce winds that supercharged the fires for days finally eased.