We're hearing reports from residents who were evacuated or had their homes destroyed in the LA fires that landlords have been significantly raising the prices for people to get into new and temporary accommodation.

The higher-than-average incomes of Pacific Palisades residents who were forced to leave homes there appears to have tempted chancers, who see the opportunity to make money from others' misery.

"We put in an application at a house … that was listed at $17,000 a month, and they told us if we didn't pay $30,000, we weren't going to get it," Maya Lieberman told the AFP.

"They told me they have people ready to offer more and pay cash. It's absolutely insane."

Price gouging is illegal in California, and once a state of emergency is declared vendors cannot increase their prices by more than 10 per cent.

Reporting with AFP

Some stunning accounts of community solidarity and survival are beginning to emerge from the fire zones across Los Angeles.

Nick Pemberton, an Altadena resident, told Reuters that he scrambled to pump water into his truck from a swimming pool so he could fight fires that were encroaching on his home.

"When the fire trucks showed up on Mar Vista, one street over, they ran out of water because all the fire hydrants were down," Mr Pemberton said.

"Thank God we were able to get the pumps in the hoses and start pumping out swimming pools.

"It was amazing. Every neighbour with a swimming pool was running out and saying, 'Use our water.'"

Reporting with Reuters

California's aerial firefighting teams have been dumping tens of thousands of litres of flame retardant over LA suburbs in the hope of breaking up some of the city's wildfires.

CAL Fire says the retardant is made up of 88 per cent water and 12 per cent ammonium phosphate, which is commonly used in fertilisers.

The substance also includes gum thickeners to help the retardant stick to burning plants and trees, and red or pink colouring dye so pilots can see where drops land from above.

Authorities say the retardant coats the ground and acts as a fuel break, with the chemicals in the substance reducing the chance of vegetation combusting when flames approach.

On top of all of that, what it has created are some eerie, picturesque scenes in ordinary backyards and streets across LA.

Reporting with Reuters and AFP.

California Governor Gavin Newsom did invite president-elect Donald Trump to tour the area on Friday.

Newsom told Fox LA on Saturday that Trump had not returned his calls. 

According to CNN, the incoming president spent Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, meeting with conservative Republicans. 

Trump has been vocal about the fires on his Truth Social account, where he has been critical of the Californian government's response. 

"One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground," he wrote in one post. 

"It's ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign." 

"Mum, just leave me, you go sort yourself out."

Those were some of the final words Shelley Sykes told the ABC she heard from her son, Australian man Rory Sykes, before he died in the Los Angeles wildfires this week.

Ms Sykes has spoken to my colleague, ABC North America correspondent Jade Macmillan, and recounted her desperate efforts to try and save her son's life as chaos reigned down on their Malibu home.

"No mum can leave their baby when there's a fire raging round about," she said.

You can read her full story here:

CNN is reporting that the Los Angeles wildfires have wreaked havoc on the eastern edge of Malibu, according to the suburb's mayor Doug Stewart.

“Malibu has lost approximately one-third of its eastern edge of the city,” Mayor Stewart said, CNN reported. 

“Those of you who have driven down our pristine highway know the beautiful homes that were along the area from Topanga to almost to Duke’s.

"They’re gone.”

Emergency personnel in Los Angeles have been kept busy battling the city's four main blazes. And now what appears to have been a small fire tornado has been spotted in the Sand Fernando Valley.

The winds in the hilly areas of LA have been a consistent concern for firefighters since the flames first sparked up on Tuesday.

Leading into Saturday local time, only light breezes were fanning the flames, but the US National Weather Service warned that locally strong Santa Ana winds could soon return.

Those winds have been blamed for turning wildfires into infernos that have levelled entire neighbourhoods in the LA area, where there has been no significant rainfall in more than eight months.

Earlier, my colleague Maddy Morwood reported the latest status of the major fires still burning across Los Angeles.

It has just ticked past 9pm local time (3pm AEST) in the City of Angels, this is how things look on the front lines.

Currently there are four active fires in the region —Palisades, Eaton, Hurst and Kenneth. 

Here are the latest statistics from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection:

The Palisades fire — the most destructive in the city's history — is still only 11 % contained. It has burnt through 9,572 hectares.

The Eaton fire is 15% contained. It has burnt though 5,712 hectares.

The Kenneth fire is 90% contained. It has burnt through 425 hectares.

The Hurst fire is 76% contained (up from 37% yesterday). It has burnt though 323 hectares. 

We'll keep you in the loop as updates flow through to us.

Many Angelinos and people on social media have been captivated this week by the firefighting finesse and precision of water-bombing aircraft battling Los Angeles's blazes from above.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection — known in short as CAL Fire — says it "boasts the largest civil aerial firefighting fleet worldwide" and it has been deployed in the hope of extinguishing the flames.

With the front lines rapidly changing, firefighting aircraft have been a consistent sight in the Los Angeles skies since the blazes began on Tuesday, dumping more than 56,700 litres of fire retardant and up to 240,000 litres of water in a single day.

If you're wondering exactly how these aircraft work, how many there are and what they're using to douse the fires, we have you covered.

You can read all about them here:

The Palisades fire is continuing to burn at the Mandeville Canyon. 

Overnight, the blaze spread to the neighbourhood. Authorities have said it will be their main focus today. 

This is what it looks like on the ground.