Wildfires blazing through California have entered the heart of Los Angeles as authorities warned of an “extreme fire danger” across the city.

Firefighters in the affluent Bel-Air neighbourhood battled to save multimillion-dollar estates in the path of the flames, which have destroyed homes near the Getty museum in America’s second-largest city. Video and photographs posted on social media showed hillsides above busy roads covered in flames, rows of houses reduced to ash, and firefighters spraying water on walls of fire. The largest blaze, the Thomas fire, has covered more than 90,000 acres (36,000 hectares), destroying more than 150 homes and threatening thousands more in Ventura, about 50 miles (80 km) north-west of Los Angeles. With winds forecast to reach 80mph, officials have warned the worst could be yet to come. An alert sent by the countrywide emergency system in Los Angeles said: “Strong winds overnight creating extreme fire danger.”(theguardian)…[+]