Wind-whipped wildfire blew through communities of every socioeconomic status and stripe, merging, psychically if not physically, into a kind of mega-catastrophe.

Millions of people across Southern California are under a Red Flag warning as a dangerous windstorm fanned blazes in the Los Angeles area, including the Palisades Fire, which has triggered evacuations and burned hundreds of acres.

Dire warnings have been issued for the Los Angeles area, with a dangerous threat for the strongest wind event in more than a decade. Outages and extreme fire behaviours are major risks