UN chief expresses readiness to assist as California struggles with wildfire

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed sorrow Thursday about wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area in the US state of California and affirmed his readiness to assist.

"The secretary-general is shocked and saddened by the widespread devastation caused by the fast-moving wildfires in the Los Angeles area in California," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

Guterres extended his condolences to the families of those killed and expressed solidarity with the thousands forced to evacuate.

"His thoughts are with the tens of thousands of people who have been forced to evacuate, as well as with the residents whose homes have been destroyed," it said.

He commended the bravery of firefighters and first responders working in challenging conditions, and said: "The United Nations stands ready to provide assistance if needed."

Fierce wildfires fueled by severe windstorms and bone-dry conditions spread rapidly across parts of north and northwest Los Angeles on Wednesday after claiming five lives and setting more than 1,000 homes, businesses and other structures ablaze.

The Palisades Fire remains the largest after being the first to erupt Tuesday at around 10.30 a.m. local time (1830GMT), burning nearly 16,000 acres as it rapidly spreads in and around the affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood near the coast.

AccuWeather, a weather forecasting company, estimates that the fires have caused between $52 and $57 billion in damages.

Over 70,000 residents have been forced to flee their homes and at least five people have been killed, according to media reports that cited the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office.

About 1.5 million people across southern California are without power, according to the PowerOutage.us website. Some of the outages may have been caused by intentional shut-offs, a tactic power companies sometimes employ to prevent live power lines from falling and further spreading wildfires.