Los Angeles fire victim died trying to protect his home: sister

One of the five people killed in ferocious fires tearing around Los Angeles died trying to protect his home from the flames, his sister said Wednesday, describing the moment she had to leave him behind.

Victor Shaw ignored firefighters' pleas to flee as fire began tearing through the Altadena area, Shari Shaw told local broadcaster KTLA.

The 66-year-old, who lived with his sister, told her he wanted to stay behind and fight the flames as she made the heartbreaking decision to leave their family home.

"When I went back in and yelled out his name, he didn't reply back," Shari Shaw said.

"I had to get out because the embers were so big and flying like a firestorm that I had to save myself.

"I looked behind me, and the house was starting to go up in flames, and I had to leave."

Al Tanner said after the fire had swept through the neighborhood, he went back to the charred property where he found the body of Shaw, a friend of his, on the driveway with a garden hose still in his hand.

"It looked like he was trying to save the home that his parents had had for almost 55 years," he told KTLA.

The broadcaster reported that Shaw's body was still at the property, with first responders stretched thin over a wide area by challenging fire conditions.

Furious winds have spotted blazes far and wide in a hellish two days around Los Angeles that has seen firefighters out-flanked by vicious, fast-moving fires.

Thousands of acres (hectares) have burned, with around 1,500 buildings razed, and a large number of people have been hurt -- many because they did not heed warnings to leave, authorities have said.

Fire authorities in the area have ordered over 100,000 people to leave their homes.

They issue frequent exhortations to get out as soon as an order is posted, and speak often of their frustration with people who stay behind.