A fast-moving fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday night, threatening one of Los Angeles' most iconic spots as firefighters battled to get under control three other major blazes that killed five people,

Rows of cars at a dealership, blasted by flames, looked like they had been bombed. A man wearing a mask walked by debris of a neighborhood destroyed. A couple, arms around each other, looked at what was left of their smoldering home. A statue of a human, without a head, lay on a street.

A nightmare came true for Hope Edelman. “This is the big one we all feared, but somehow convinced ourselves would never happen,” said Edelman, an author and 27-year resident of Topanga Canyon, referring to the Palisades fire that began Tuesday and was,