Los Angeles wildfires kill two and trigger exodus as firefighters battle blazes

Firefighters were also struggling to contain the Eaton Fire, which erupted around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, and battling what’s being called the Hurst Fire, which ignited around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday in Sylmar, which is north of San Fernando.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said that two arrests were made Wednesday morning for looting and issued a stern warning to anybody hoping to capitalize on the ongoing catastrophe.

“If you are thinking about coming into the any of these areas to steal from our residents, I’m going to tell you something: you’re going to be caught, you’re going to be arrested, and you’re going to be prosecuted,” Luna said. “Don’t do that. Stay out of these areas.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who was in Ghana when the fires spread Tuesday, was expected to return to the city Wednesday.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was scheduled to travel to Washington, D.C., for the memorial service for former President Jimmy Carter, canceled his trip because of the wildfires, a spokesman has confirmed.

Los Angeles is the movie capital of the world but, because of the ongoing fires, the Screen Actors Guild was forced to cancel a live event scheduled for Wednesday morning to announce its annual awards nominations and, instead, did so online.

Black smoke was visible in the skies over Los Angeles neighborhoods like Silver Lake and in nearby communities like Burbank that are miles away from the infernos.

As a result, many of the city’s best-known attractions, including the famous Hollywood sign, were closed Wednesday to the public, officials said.

So were many schools in Los Angeles Unified, the nation’s second-largest school district, because of the hazardous air conditions.

An index over 300 represents an emergency state, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s air quality index. But some parts of Los Angeles are seeing indexes above 500, while some Pasadena locations are seeing indexes of 600 to 1,200.

Jacob Soboroff reported from Los Angeles. Corky Siemaszko reported from New York City.