“Damage assessments are ongoing at the Palisades fire. Preliminary reports estimate the damage or destroyed structures to be in the thousands,” Los Angeles city Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said during a news conference Thursday morning.

Multiple wildfires, including the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire, are raging across southern California early Thursday, leaving at least 5 dead and burning more than 27,000 acres, officials say. The Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles is the most recent to break out.

With flames driven by hurricane-force winds, “it feels like Armageddon,” said one woman who was forced to evacuate. “It’s just smoke and darkness.”

LOS ANGELES − As multiple wildfires continue to burn through Southern California, evacuation orders remain in place throughout the region through at least Thursday. Authorities continue to investigating the causes of three wildfires that began burning in Southern California on Tuesday and two fires that sparked north of Los Angeles and in Hollywood on Wednesday.