Devastated Pacific Palisades residents have returned to their neighborhood to find their homes and businesses reduced to rubble and ash by deadly wildfires.
A heartbreaking video reveals that the once bustling enclave of Los Angeles is now a spooky ghost town.
CBS correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti couldn’t contain his excitement as he drove through the smoky streets Wednesday.
‘My God, look at this, beyond comprehension,’ he is heard saying as he cries. “It’s very sad.”
The video shows the charred remains of several businesses and homes, including a Starbucks, with plumes of flames continuing to rise in the background.
The apocalyptic scene shows electrical cables crumpled atop piles of rubble among the city’s iconic palm trees.
Vigliotti reported that the mall survived the devastation but that “everything else was gone.”
The once-upscale neighborhood has been decimated by the fire that started Tuesday and spread rapidly amid 60 mph Santa Ana winds.
Pacific Palisades residents returned to the neighborhood to find their homes and businesses reduced to rubble and ash by deadly wildfires. Pictured is a burned building that included a Starbucks.
The same building appears in the photo before being destroyed by the flames that devastated the luxurious enclave.
About 30,000 residents of Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas are now under mandatory evacuation orders.
Some 30,000 residents of Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas are now under mandatory evacuation orders, amid warnings that there is an immediate threat to their lives.
At least four separate fires are burning in the metropolitan area, from the inland Pacific Coast to Pasadena.
As of 8 a.m. local time, the fires were 0 percent contained. Two people were killed and many more injured after flames swept through more than 5,000 acres.
The deaths were linked to the Eaton fire, although the exact nature of what caused them has not been revealed.
Los Angeles Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said up to 1,000 structures have been destroyed in the Los Angeles fires.
With thousands of firefighters already attacking the flames, the Los Angeles Fire Department called in off-duty firefighters for help, and weather conditions were too windy for firefighting planes to fly, further hampering the fight.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency amid warnings that the situation could worsen.
A CBS reporter captured the scenes of devastation in the once-bustling metropolitan center.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency after four separate fires were identified.
Torrance firefighters are seen preparing to battle the Palisades Fire. Strong winds have made fighting the fires difficult
Southern California Edison cut power to nearly 120,000 customers in six counties for safety reasons due to high winds and the risk of wildfires.
Another 440,000 customers could face similar outages depending on the weather.
Among the high-profile evacuations were ex-husband and wife Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck and their three children.
The former couple fled together after Affleck was ordered to leave his $20 million bachelor pad just blocks from Garner’s home.
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill and actor James Wood were also evacuated, while reality stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt lost their home.
Two people have been arrested for looting amid the chaos, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.
Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, told CNN that the ongoing fires in Southern California could have historic costs.
Southern California Edison cut power to nearly 120,000 customers in six counties
Beachfront home in Malibu devastated by flames from the Palisades Fire
“It’s plausible that the Palisades Fire, in particular, could become the costliest period on record, not just in California, but overall,” Swain told CNN.
‘We’ve probably ticked that box this time. I hope we don’t check other boxes too.”