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.
It was caught on camera whirling near the perimeter of the Palisades fires.
Flaming twisters occur when winds converge together during a fire.
Ghostly images of LA neighbourhood after 5300 homes destroyed
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.
Firenados have also been seen during bushfires in Australia.
The deadly firestorm in LA has been exacerbated by the powerful Santa Ana winds blowing in from the southern California interior.
Five of the deaths appear to be from the Palisades Fire and 11 deaths in the Eaton Fire, according to the office’s records.
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.
