The Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst fires covered more than 5,600 acres of Southern California as of Wednesday morning. Tens of thousands were under mandatory evacuation orders but the fires increased in size overnight, helped by the blustery Santa Ana winds.

Firefighters are scrambling to corral flames churning along hillsides in Los Angeles as winds have gained strength across Southern California. Forecasters said “life-threatening, destructive” gusts could last for days while toppling trees and bringing extreme fire risk to areas that haven’t seen substantial rain in months.