Two massive wildfires menacing Los Angeles from the east and west were still burning uncontained on Thursday, but a brief respite from the fierce winds that have fanned the flames for two days allowed crews to slow their explosive spread.

Fierce wildfires are raging in the Los Angeles area, with fast-moving flames burning through homes and businesses. Residents are fleeing smoke-filled canyons.

Chaos engulfed Los Angeles on Wednesday as fierce Santa Ana winds fuelled wildfires that tore through the region. Pacific Palisades, known for its lu

The massive Palisades Fire broke out in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon, prompting mandatory evacuations affecting tens of thousands of people and highway closures. Later Tuesday, the Eaton Fire broke out in the foothills of Pasadena on the other side of Los Angeles County.

The wildfires that destroyed homes in multiple sections of the Los Angeles area will test California’s efforts to stabilize the state’s insurance marketplace after many insurers stopped issuing residential policies due to the high fire risk.

With strong winds, dry conditions and no immediate end in sight, analysts project total economic losses of as much as $150 billion.

Collectively, the losses — whether in the hundreds or, as is far more likely, in the thousands — will weigh on the city’s already urgent housing shortage.

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.”