As homes and businesses are incinerated, life grinds to a halt in the smoldering entertainment capital. Among those who have lost houses are Paris Hilton, Billy Crystal, and James Woods.

Firefighters are battling to control a series of major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and sent thousands of people f

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.”