LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Raging wildfires in Los Angeles killed at least two people, destroyed hundreds of buildings and stretched firefighting resources and water supplies to the limit on Wednesday, as more than 70,000 people were ordered to evacuate.

Fierce winds were hindering firefighting operations and fueling the fires, which have burned unimpeded since they began on Tuesday.

A lack of water also hampered efforts, particularly in Pacific Palisades, an upscale coastal enclave where a wildfire has consumed nearly 12,000 acres.

The municipal water system there relies on three large tanks that hold approximately a million gallons each, Janisse Quinones, chief executive of the city’s water and power department, said at a press conference. The demand for water to fight fires at lower elevations was making it difficult to refill water tanks at higher elevations.

The third and final tank hit empty around 3 a.m., she said, causing some hydrants to run dry. With winds and smoke limiting the ability to offer air support, firefighters were left without enough water to battle the flames.

“We pushed the system to the extreme,” Ms. Quinones said. “We’re fighting a wildfire with urban water systems, and that is really challenging.” Officials urged residents to limit water usage.

The fire in the Palisades, a picturesque neighborhood in west Los Angeles County home to many film, television and music stars, has burned more than 1,000 structures, making it one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history. The wildfire had quadrupled in size between early Wednesday and midday.

Another blaze, the Eaton fire, east of Los Angeles near Pasadena, has also spread explosively since it was sparked on Tuesday evening, covering more than 10,000 acres as of late Wednesday morning. Two fatalities were reported there, though officials did not have further details.

The Hurst fire, in Sylmar in the San Fernando Valley northwest of Los Angeles, had exceeded 500 acres. All three fires were 0 percent contained, officials said.

Officials said they were starting to run short of personnel.

“There are not enough firefighters in LA County to address four separate fires of this magnitude,” said L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, referring to a smaller fourth fire that has been contained.

Shaun Tate, 45, said he fled his home in Altadena, a Los Angeles suburb in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, at 4:15 a.m. when he saw flames rolling towards his house.

“I came out of the house because I heard something fly off the roof,” Mr. Tate said at an evacuation center in Pasadena.

“We packed up the SUV and drove down here,” he said. “I chose to save my laptop, my diabetic medication and a little bit of food.”

Officials warned that the gusty winds were forecast to persist throughout the day.

“We are absolutely not out of danger yet, with the strong winds that continue to push through the city and the county today,” Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said.

The skies above Los Angeles glowed red in some areas and were blanketed by thick smoke.

As the flames spread and residents began evacuating after the fires broke out on Tuesday, roads were so jammed that some people abandoned their vehicles to escape the fire. Emergency responders were going door to door to press evacuation orders.

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Tuesday. President Joe Biden planned to visit a Santa Monica fire station for a briefing from fire officials on Wednesday, the White House said.

President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office in two weeks, blamed Mr. Newsom’s environmental policies for the disaster in a post on his Truth Social website.

The Los Angeles region had been ripe for fire going into the fall, when seasonal winds arrive in the region, after consecutive wet winters created an abundance of grass and vegetation that turned to fuel during an intensely hot summer, climate scientists said.

‘This Close’

Approximately 100 of the 1,000 public schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District were shut down, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho told the press conference.

Pacific Palisades resident Cindy Festa said that as she evacuated, fires were “this close to the cars,” demonstrating with her thumb and forefinger.

“People left their cars on Palisades Drive. Burning up the hillside. The palm trees—everything is going,” Ms. Festa said from her car.

David Reed said he had no choice but to leave his Pacific Palisades home when police officers showed up at his door.

“They laid down the law,” Mr. Reed said.

He gathered his most important possessions and accepted a ride from officers to the evacuation center at the Westwood Community Center.

“I grabbed my trombone and the latest book I’ve been reading,” he said, adding that he could see flames approaching his home.

Pacific Palisades is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the country. A typical home was valued at $3.7 million as of the end of 2023, according to Zillow, more than all but four other zip codes in the United States.

The fleeing evacuees included Hollywood celebrities such as Jamie Lee Curtis, Mandy Moore and Mark Hamill.

‘Historic Natural Disaster’

In the Pasadena area, the Eaton fire engulfed homes, a synagogue and a McDonald’s restaurant.

Almost 100 residents from a nursing home in Pasadena were evacuated, CBS News said. Video showed elderly residents, many in wheelchairs and on gurneys, crowded onto a smoky and windswept parking lot as fire trucks and ambulances attended to them.

Around 400,000 homes and businesses in southern California were without power on Wednesday, data from PowerOutage.us showed.

“We’re facing a historic natural disaster. And I think that can’t be stated strong enough,” Kevin McGowan, director of emergency management for Los Angeles County, said at the press conference.

The fire singed some trees on the grounds of the Getty Villa, a museum loaded with priceless works of art, but the collection remained safe largely because nearby bushes had been trimmed as a preventive measure, the museum said.

Before the fire started, the National Weather Service had issued its highest alert for extreme fire conditions for much of Los Angeles County from Tuesday through Thursday.

With low humidity and dry vegetation due to a lack of rain, the conditions were “about as bad as it gets in terms of fire weather,” the service said.