The devastation caused by the hellish wildfires tearing through Los Angeles has been laid bare by a series of horrific before and after images that emerged this morning.
A slew of notable locations, including Sunset Boulevard dividing the upscale Pacific Palisades, were engulfed by punishing flames that tore through both residential and commercial areas and reduced buildings to burned-out shells.
Banks, restaurants, gas stations and homes were left in smoldering ruins along the iconic boulevard, where bulldozers were forced to remove luxury motorbikes and clear a path for emergency services and firefighters.
The latest fires have burned vast swaths of iconic real estate in Southern California, from Malibu to Santa Monica, and from Pacific Palisades to Runyon Canyon, impacting millions of people who have been overwhelmed by the unprecedented spread and massacre.
As of Thursday morning, the largest inferno has consumed nearly 12,000 acres (4,856 hectares) in the picturesque Pacific Palisades neighborhood, home to many film, television and music stars.
In Studio City, several homes caught fire late Wednesday after a fire broke out in a four-story building and spread to neighboring properties.
So far, at least five people have been killed in the disaster, which destroyed two thousand structures and left thousands of people in the city with nothing but ash.
The death toll is expected to rise as police and fire departments prepare to deploy K-9 units trained in detecting human remains.
General view of Sunset Boulevard during the wildfires on January 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, California
A motorist drives past a destroyed building during the Eaton fire in Altadena, California, Wednesday, January 8, 2025.
General view of Sunset Boulevard during the wildfires on January 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, California
Firefighters from the Los Angeles County Fire Department battle flames at the Iglesia de Cristo Jehova Sabaoth (Church of Christ Jehovah Sabaoth) and Steve’s Pet Store during the Eaton Fire, Wednesday, January 8, 2025
General view of Sunset Boulevard during the wildfires on January 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, California
The Shell gas station on Sunset Boulevard is seen before and after the passage of the Palisades Fire
More than 130,000 people are still under evacuation orders in Southern California after several notable TV, movie and music stars announced on social media that they had lost their homes.
Mandy Moore, Cary Elwes, Paris Hilton, James Woods, Billy Crystal and his wife Janice all claimed to have seen their homes go up in smoke during the Palisades Fire.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, became emotional when asked whether Donald Trump blamed him for the disastrous wildfires, after the president-elect called California’s governor “Gavin Newscum” and said he was to blame for the disaster.
Trump’s comment came as LA real estate developer Rick Caruso, whose Palisades Village properties were destroyed by the inferno, blamed the shocking issue on “mismanagement” and “systemic problems” in the city after fire hydrants were found not to be filled with water from the reservoir.
“This is a window into a systemic problem of the city – not just of mismanagement, but our infrastructure is old,” he said. LA times reported that firefighters were radioing their stations with reports that the hydrants were dry.
He took on LA Mayor Karen Bass – who was out of the country when the fire ripped through the city earlier this week – and the Department of Water and Power (DWP) in a stern interview with FOX News.
Caruso – himself a former commissioner of the city’s Water and Energy Board – stated: “Everyone knew these winds were coming… you have to have water and it is my understanding that the reservoir was not filled on time or in time. .
“These are fundamental things… it’s all about leadership and management that we’re seeing a failure and all these residents are paying the ultimate price for… Why don’t you call the mayor who’s not around?” country, and ask her? (why the hydrants are dry),” he concluded.
More than 1,500 California firefighters are tasked with extinguishing the wind-swept wildfires as the The California National Guard is preparing to deploy more military personnel to help.
Already, 600 Cal Guard troops have arrived, along with equipment to assist local authorities. They brought ten rotary-wing aircraft and two C-130 aircraft to help fight the fires.
K-9s that specialize in detecting human remains will be deployed once the fires are under control to ensure there are no other dead bodies in the wreckage of the fires, LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said Wednesday evening.
A man walks in front of the burning Altadena Community Church, Wednesday, January 8, 2025, in Pasadena, California
Firefighters are also still battling the out-of-control Palisades fire
Water bombardment planes work in the dark to control the fire
The front porch and mailbox of a house stand intact in front of the ruins of a house
Residents hugged each other in an emotional moment as a house burned down in the Eaton fire
The sun can be seen behind smoke over charred buildings that fell victim to the Palisades fire
Wind conditions have decreased enough to allow airborne aircraft to help fight the Hollywood Hills fire
Late Wednesday night, there were concerns that the fire could spread to nearby brush and that embers could be picked up by the wind and travel through the SoCal hills.
Adam Vangerpen, spokesman for LA County Fire, told KTLA that “with the winds increasing up there in the hills, that is a concern.”
Meanwhile, in the Hollywood Hills, a powerful fire raged within a mile of the iconic Walk of Fame, forcing evacuations from the famed Hollywood Boulevard and causing mass panic on the roads as residents and tourists fled.
An urgent evacuation alert read: “A mandatory evacuation order is now in effect for Laurel Canyon Blvd (west) to Mulholland Dr (north) to 101 Freeway (east) to Hollywood Blvd (south). ‘
That fire would have to cross the 101 Freeway to threaten the Hollywood sign and the Griffith Observatory further up in the hills.
Witnesses who saw the new fire said the flames “exploded in size” as the area is fertile with dense bush that unfortunately fuels the inferno.
Firefighters are dropping water from the sky in an attempt to control the fire and stop its spread to nearby neighborhoods.
Embers were seen flying ahead of the main fire and landing on buildings. Video showed at least one residential building catching fire starting Wednesday evening.
But the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood remains the hardest-hit area.
Mary Shriver, a journalist and former first lady of California when she was married to former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said the devastation in the upscale enclave was devastating.
‘Everything is gone. Our neighborhood, our restaurants,” she wrote on X on Wednesday. “The firefighters have and are doing their best, but this fire is huge and out of control.”
The day after actor James Woods evacuated his Pacific Palisades home, he said “every house around us was on fire.”
“We were literally at the exact epicenter of the fire when it started,” Woods, known for roles in “Ghosts of Mississippi” and “Any Given Sunday,” said on CNN on Wednesday.
‘There was so much chaos. It was like an inferno.’
A couple looks on at their now destroyed home after the Eaton fire
The charred remains of a car depicted
Residents had to flee as emergency services were busy extinguishing the fire in their home
A house burns during the Palisades Fire, which is not yet under control
Stars shared their grief, praised firefighters and encouraged those in danger of evacuating on social media.
Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis said ‘my community and possibly my house is on fire’.
“It’s a terrifying situation,” Curtis wrote on Instagram. “Pray if you believe in it and even if you don’t, pray for those who do.”
Mandy Moore, known for the television series “This is Us,” said she and her family were evacuated due to the proximity of the flames.
“So devastated by the destruction and loss,” she wrote on Instagram. “I don’t know if our house made it.”
Media personality Paris Hilton’s Malibu beachfront mansion, reportedly purchased for $8.4 million, was among the homes that burned.
She said she was “heartbroken beyond words.”
“Sitting with my family, watching the news and seeing our house in Malibu burn down live on TV is something no one should ever have to experience,” Hilton wrote on X.
Several other fires raged around the city. According to licensing organization FilmLA, film permits in Pasadena and other areas east of Los Angeles were revoked at the request of fire officials.
Production of TV shows such as “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “Grey’s Anatomy” was halted on Wednesday. Several film premieres were also canceled.
Actor Mark Hamill, known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” films, called the fire the “most horrific” since 1993.
He said on Instagram that he evacuated his Malibu home with his wife and dog on Tuesday evening.
“There were small fires on both sides of the road as we approached the Pacific Coast Highway,” he said.