A third fire broke out in West Hills as authorities worked to contain an existing fire.

Two wildfires in the Los Angeles area have killed at least seven people and burned about 10,000 homes and buildings, while a third wildfire prompted the evacuation of thousands of residents, local officials said.

The latest fire, the Kenneth Fire, broke out Thursday afternoon in the San Fernando Valley community of West Hills, as fire crews were still working to contain fires in the Palisades and Eaton.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the third fire was expected to spread quickly due to high winds.

The latest evacuation orders come as officials confirm that the Palisade and Eaton fires each destroyed about 5,000 structures, including homes and other property such as cars and sheds.

Together, the two fires have burned more than 30,000 acres (12,000 hectares), according to California wildfire agency Cal Fire.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at a news conference that he expected the confirmed death toll to rise.

“It looks like an atomic bomb was dropped on these areas. I don’t expect good news, and we don’t expect these numbers,” Luna said.

According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, nearly 180,000 people were under evacuation orders due to the fires, and another 200,000 residents were under evacuation warnings.

Dozens of blocks in the affluent neighborhoods of Malibu and Pacific Palisades were reduced to ashes.

Celebrities including James Woods, Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal lost their homes in the fire.

“There are areas where everything is gone, not even a log is left, just dirt,” said Barbara Bruderlin, president of the Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce in Malibu.

Al Jazeera’s Rob Reynolds reported on Pacific Palisades that the extent of the damage was “incalculable.”

“The hillsides were burned. There was a high school… that was heavily damaged. You could see some houses with nothing left but their chimneys,” he said.

“It went on, literally, kilometer after kilometer, block after block.”

U.S. President Joe Biden, who will be succeeded by President-elect Donald Trump in the White House on January 20, has called on Congress for assistance.

“I hope they’re ready to take action because we can afford it,” Biden said, adding that he hoped lawmakers “don’t make a political deal out of this.”

“I will be leaving this office soon, but this has nothing to do with politics,” Biden said.