For five consecutive days, wildfires fanned by strong winds have ravaged neighborhoods in Los Angeles, destroying more than 12,300 homes and buildings and leaving at least 16 dead. Fresh evacuations were ordered from Mandeville Canyon to the Interstate 405 freeway on Friday evening because of a flare-up of the massive Palisades Fire.

As of Wednesday morning, the Santa Ana wind-fueled Palisades Fire in Los Angeles had scorched more than 5,000 acres and destroyed an estimated 1,000 structures, many of them homes, officials said.

By Jorge Garcia, Rollo Ross and Maria Alejandra Cardona LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Fierce winds that have supercharged wildfires sweeping parts of Los Angeles finally eased on Friday night, bringing some relief to weary firefighters,