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LOS ANGELES — The two biggest wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area this week burned at least 10,000 homes, buildings and other structures, officials said Thursday as they urged more people to heed evacuation orders after a new blaze ignited and quickly grew.

Only hours earlier officials expressed encouragement after firefighters aided by calmer winds and help from crews from outside the state saw the first signs of successfully beating back the region's devastating wildfires that killed at least seven people so far.

"We are expecting this fire to rapidly spread due to high winds," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said, echoing the forecast that called for winds to strengthen Thursday evening through Friday morning.

Between the Eaton and Palisades fires, the two largest blazes, more than 10,000 structures burned. At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and groceries were lost. So too were the Will Rogers' Western Ranch House and Topanga Ranch Motel, local landmarks dating to the 1920s. 

All of the large fires that broke out this week in the Los Angeles area are in a roughly 25-mile band north of downtown. Dozens of blocks were flattened to smoldering rubble in scenic Pacific Palisades. Only the outlines of homes and their chimneys remained. In Malibu, blackened palm strands were all that was left above debris where oceanfront homes once stood.

The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage or specifics about how many structures burned. AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on weather and its impact, on Thursday increased its estimate of the damage and economic loss to $135 billion to $150 billion.

Firefighters made significant gains Thursday at slowing the spread of the Eaton and Palisades fires, though Eaton remained at 0% contained and Palisades at only a small percentage.

Crews also knocked down a blaze in the Hollywood Hills, allowing an evacuation to be lifted Thursday. The fire that sparked up late Wednesday near the heart of the entertainment industry came perilously close to igniting the famed Hollywood Bowl outdoor concert venue.

"While we are still facing significant threats, I am hopeful that the tide is turning," Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said Thursday.

Water dropped from aircraft helped fire crews quickly seize control of the fires in the Hollywood Hills and Studio City, officials said. Much of the widespread destruction occurred Tuesday after those aircraft were grounded due to high winds.

Fire officials said Thursday that they didn't yet know the cause of the fires but were investigating.

California's wildfire season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change, according to recent data.

Dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which has not seen more than 0.1 inch of rain since early May.

Earlier this week, hurricane-force winds blew embers, igniting the Southern California hillsides.

Right now, it's impossible to quantify the extent of the destruction other than "total devastation and loss," said Barbara Bruderlin, head of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce.

Of the seven deaths so far, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley confirmed two were in the Palisades Fire. County officials said the Eaton Fire killed five.

Cadaver dogs and search crews were searching through rubble, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

Anthony Mitchell, a 67-year-old amputee, and his son, Justin, who had cerebral palsy, were waiting for an ambulance to come, but they did not make it out, Mitchell's daughter, Hajime White, told The Washington Post.

Shari Shaw told local TV news station KTLA that she tried to get her 66-year-old brother, Victor Shaw, to evacuate Tuesday night but he wanted to stay and fight the fire. Crews found his body with a garden hose in his hand.

On Thursday, recovery crews pulled a body from rubble of what was a beachfront residence in Malibu on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway.

At least 180,000 people were under evacuation orders, and the fires consumed about 45 square miles — roughly the size of San Francisco. The Palisades Fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles' history.

All schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation's second largest, will be closed Friday because of the heavy smoke wafting over the city and ash raining down in parts, and classes will not resume until the conditions improve, officials said.

At least 20 arrests were made for looting, and the city of Santa Monica declared a curfew Wednesday night because of the lawlessness, officials said. Luna said to protect properties national guard troops would be stationed near the areas ravaged by fire and a curfew was expected to go into effect from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m., starting as soon as Thursday.

Flames destroyed the homes of several celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton. Jamie Lee Curtis pledged $1 million to start a "fund of support" for those affected by the fires that touched all economic levels from the city's wealthy to its working class.