LOS ANGELES - Multiple massive wildfires are tearing across the Los Angeles area with devastating force.
The flames drove residents to make desperate escapes from burning homes through ferocious winds and towering clouds of smoke.
Thousands of firefighters are battling at least three separate blazes in the metropolitan area, from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena, home of the famed Rose Parade.
Images of the devastation that emerged early Wednesday showed luxurious homes that had collapsed in a whirlwind of flaming embers.
The tops of palm trees whipped against a glowing red sky.