For five consecutive days, wildfires fanned by strong winds have ravaged neighborhoods in Los Angeles, destroying more than 12,300 homes and buildings and leaving at least 11 dead. Fresh evacuations were ordered from Mandeville Canyon to the Interstate 405 freeway on Friday evening because of a flare up of the massive Palisades Fire.

Eleven deaths have been confirmed and more than 12,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed. More than 150,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders. Law enforcement sources told The Times that it’s likely many of the small fires will turn out to have been the work of arson.

The extent of the damage from wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area is horrific however it's tallied: Neighborhoods have been erased, landmarks destroyed and lives lost. But officials have prompted some confusion by suggesting their count of “structures” damaged — more than 12,