Ten confirmed deaths and more than 9,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed and more than 150,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders. Law enforcement sources told The Times that it’s likely many of the small fires will turn out to have been the work of arson.

Nearly a dozen people are believed to be dead -- with the Los Angeles County sheriff saying he expects that number to rise -- as devastating fires spread across Southern California amid dry and windy conditions,

California’s insurance commissioner won’t allow canceled or nonrenewed policies in and around the fire zones for a year.

Fires ignited in Pacific Palisades, Sylmar, Altadena and Hollywood Hills, forcing thousands to evacuate amid a life-threatening and destructive windstorm slamming Southern California.

The Eaton and Palisades fires have burned more than 34,000 acres in Los Angeles County − an area larger than the city of San Francisco. The two fires cover the widest area among five fires in the vicinity and are raging through densely populated zones.

Southern California fires are only a fraction of the size of the state's largest blazes historically but could be the most destructive ever.

The two largest firestorms have already been ranked by state fire officials among California’s 20 most-damaging.