Thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate the Los Angeles area as wildfires continue to tear through the region.

After erupting Tuesday, the fire has scorched an area roughly 24 times the size of New York City's Central Park.

The Palisades Fire erupted Tuesday and ripped through this coastal enclave. By Friday morning, the fire scorched 20,438 acres with only 8% contained.

Nearly a dozen people are believed to be dead and many more injured as several fires broke out across Southern California amid historically dry and windy conditions.

Though the Palisades and Eaton fires are smaller, they rank high in structures burned. Combined, they would equal the second-most destructive California wildfire in history, with more than 9,000 structures burned, according to early Cal Fire estimates. A more detailed analysis of the total number of destroyed structures is still underway.

A brush fire broke out Tuesday near the Pacific Palisades, a coastal neighborhood on the west side of Los Angeles, and quickly exploded.