Landscapes turned into hellscapes, shock and the ongoing fight against wildfires in Los Angeles
Firefighters on Saturday raced to get the upperhand on blazes chewing through homes in the greater Los Angeles area, five days after powerful winds swept across a bone-dry landscape and fueled urban wildfires that have turned much of the world famous city into a hellscape.
The ongoing fight
While firefighters made gains on the fires, the battle was far from over. From both the air and the ground, firefighters attacked the flames. Hazardous smoke, from both active burning and smoldering homes, filled the skies.
Firefighters stand in a fire-ravaged zone while battling the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Firefighters stand in a fire-ravaged zone while battling the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
The devastation
Parts of Los Angeles, the city internationally known for its movie industry, now looked like the sets of war movies. Large swaths of neighborhoods were all but eliminated, with houses flattened and blackened trees.
A person walks down a street in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A person walks down a street in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A washer and dryer is still standing in a property burned by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A washer and dryer is still standing in a property burned by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Homeowners Sohrab Nafici, right, and Christine Meinders return to their fire-ravaged neighborhood in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Homeowners Sohrab Nafici, right, and Christine Meinders return to their fire-ravaged neighborhood in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Garrett Yost gathers water from a pool while surveying his neighbors’ fire-ravaged properties in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Garrett Yost gathers water from a pool while surveying his neighbors’ fire-ravaged properties in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The shock
People returning to what was left of their homes were clearly in shock. They hugged, cried and sometimes just stood in place, as if trying to take it all in.
Kaegan Baron takes a moment as she sifts through the rubble of her mother’s home after it was destroyed by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Kaegan Baron takes a moment as she sifts through the rubble of her mother’s home after it was destroyed by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Homeowners Sohrab Nafici, left, and Christine Meinders return to their fire-ravaged neighborhood in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Homeowners Sohrab Nafici, left, and Christine Meinders return to their fire-ravaged neighborhood in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Kevin Marshall sifts through his mother’s fire-ravaged property in the the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Kevin Marshall sifts through his mother’s fire-ravaged property in the the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Oliver Braren wipes his eyes as he takes a moment from sifting through Kaegan Baron’s mother’s home after it was destroyed by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Oliver Braren wipes his eyes as he takes a moment from sifting through Kaegan Baron’s mother’s home after it was destroyed by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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