Three life-threatening fires which are only expected to get worse are destroying homes as they race across Los Angeles County, the largest of which — in Pacific Palisades — has left tens of thousands of people under evacuation orders.

According to CNN, many abandoned their cars in the neighbourhood between Malibu and Santa Monica, forcing fire officials to use a bulldozer to move the resulting pileup of vehicles as evacuees became stuck in traffic. With traffic slowing evacuations, and flames jumping the highway, some had considered sheltering on the beach.

The out-of-control Palisades fire is blazing through about five football fields a minute and has burned over 2,900 acres. Los Angeles has declared an emergency and firefighters warned that “tornado-like” winds were complicating their battles.

Two other fires have erupted in Los Angeles County: The 500-acre strong Hurst fire north of San Fernando, and the Eaton fire in Altadena, which has grown to 1,000 acres in a matter of hours. More than 200,000 homes and buildings are without power in the county.