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A terrifying 'fire tornado' was captured spinning in Los Angeles as the Californian city continues to be ravaged by deadly wildfires.
The 'firenado' was spotted around 10.45pm local time on Friday in the Pacific Palisades area, where thousands of homes have already been destroyed.
Haunting footage of the fire tornado was seen circulating on social media and local US news coverage in the worst-hit region of LA.
READ MORE: Mum of Aussie man killed in LA wildfires recalls trying to save son
It was caught on camera whirling near the perimeter of the Palisades fires.
Flaming twisters occur when winds converge together during a fire.
They can grow to be around 152-metres wide at their worst.
True fire tornadoes are "rare" and are always associated with extreme fire behaviour, according to the US Library of Congress.
"They are also referred to as 'pyrogenetic tornadoes,' which refers to the way in which they are formed, with a tornado-strength vortex much like a traditional tornado," an article on the Library of Congress website reads.
READ MORE: Here's why LA's ferocious wildfires are burning in the middle of winter
Firenados have also been seen during bushfires in Australia.
One in WA tore across 6.2 kilometres of scrubland in just 15 minutes.
The deadly firestorm in LA has been exacerbated by the powerful Santa Ana winds blowing in from the southern California interior.
The death toll from the Eaton and Palisades fires has now climbed to 16, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said on Saturday.
Five of the deaths appear to be from the Palisades Fire and 11 deaths in the Eaton Fire, according to the office's records.
READ MORE: Bryanna was on the couch when ash began pouring from the sky
More than 100,000 residents remain under evacuation orders as multiple fires continue to rage across LA.
The coastal Palisades Fire is at least 11 per cent contained but now moving inland toward Brentwood and other communities near the Getty Centre and UCLA.
The Eaton Fire in Altadena and other blazes in the county continue to burn too.
Fire officials are responding to at least four fires in the region, including the Eaton, Hurst, Kenneth and Palisades fires.
They have spread to roughly 38,276 acres (154,89 hectares) combined.
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