Patty Burns, 93, has a brilliant memory and has lived in Los Angeles' Pacific Palisades neighborhood for more than 60 years. She always kept a black bag full of important documents ready in case of a fire.
On Tuesday, she needed it.
Her daughter, who lives across the road, arrived at her doorstep that morning to get her out of the house. Flames caused by strong winds were already burning through the Santa Monica Mountains in what became the most damaging fire in history. the date.
Burns took her medication, paused to put on a pair of navy blue drop earrings, and then left her house for what would be the last time. “We've been afraid of this for years,” she said. “I keep thinking about things I need to do at home or things I need to get. But it's all gone.”
The Palisades fires burned about 20,000 acres, destroyed 5,000 buildings, and killed at least two people. Building after building was destroyed, leaving the area looking like the aftermath of an air raid. After four days, Fires It's still burning — in Palisades and other neighborhoods across Los Angeles and its suburbs.
The destruction that occurred this week further shook the city, which suffers from multiple social and economic problems. Los Angeles is still struggling to deal with the homelessness crisis and lack of affordable housing. Its most visible industry – Hollywood – is grappling with the devastating impact of the streaming revolution and the consequences of long strikes. Studios this week halted production in Los Angeles due to the fires.
Los Angeles now faces costly recovery efforts in hard-hit communities across the city, with estimates of financial losses from the fires reaching more than $150 billion, according to AccuWeather. All while Los Angeles prepares to host the Olympics in 2028.
Known for its winding streets, stunning ocean views, deep canyons, modern architectural marvels, and Hollywood-starred residents, the Palisades Hotel has been one of the most sought-after addresses in the United States for decades.
But this week the winding hillside roads that make the area so exciting have turned into hellish evacuation routes. Traffic came to a halt as flames loomed in the hills behind them. Dozens of drivers abandoned their Teslas and Priuses and chose to flee on foot as the fire swept through the valleys.
While firefighters struggled to contain the fires in Palisades, flames tore through other parts of Los Angeles: first toward Santa Monica, where some residents were told to evacuate, then to Altadena, about 30 miles to the east.
Over the next two days, more fires broke out in the Hollywood Hills — dangerously close to the Hollywood Sign and other landmarks — Pasadena and the San Fernando Valley.
Dry Santa Ana monsoons fanned the fires, and there was ample fuel thanks to the dry months.
Efforts to repel the fire were risky. Strong winds, reaching hurricane levels at times, grounded helicopters and super-cooper planes used to extinguish the fires from the air. The Palisades periodically experienced low water pressure, hampering firefighters on the ground who discovered that fire hydrants were dry.
Nearly 400,000 Los Angeles County residents were either under evacuation orders or warnings by late Thursday. Many homes safely away from the burning hills were filled with friends who had lost their homes or weren't sure if they were still standing.
“This is like a wealthy refugee crisis,” said Braydon Jeros, an app developer who also owns a branding agency. Giros' home in the Palisades area burned down Tuesday, forcing his family to stay with friends in Brentwood.
“We only have the clothes to wear. That's all,” he said. “We have to become more acquainted with the idea that everything will disappear.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency, and President Joe Biden released federal funds to pay for temporary housing, home repairs and loans to cover uninsured property losses.
But the fires have already become political, with President-elect Donald Trump blaming Newsom for the crisis. In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass has been criticized for being part of a delegation to Ghana when the fires broke out, which critics say slowed the response.
The fires in Altadena were so devastating, it is believed that between 4,000 and 5,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. Among them was the new home recently purchased by musician Jake and his wife, who were drawn to the up-and-coming area near the San Gabriel Mountains.
“We've been married for about a year and we've been saving. We've just bought our house,” he said. “We had our first night in the house a week ago. The boxes have not been completely emptied yet.”
They packed their “bags” when they heard about the Palisades fires. They evacuated after winds began whipping trees around their home on Wednesday, and discovered their new home had burned down due to a TV spot.
Jake has home insurance from the California Fair Plan, but he knows it won't cover all his losses. “We are working on insurance claims and trying to figure out what to do next,” he said. “The entire city of Altadena is burned.”
In the Palisades area, there are concerns about the fate of several historic mid-20th-century modern buildings, such as the Eames House, built by Charles and Ray Eames in 1949. The couple and other architects, including Richard Neutra, built several pioneering case study homes in the Palisades which helped shape the open modern style that became associated with the rugged Pacific Coast.
“We have never seen a fire of this magnitude before in terms of sheer scale,” said Adrian Scott Fine, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Conservancy. “It's very extreme in terms of what we can look at in terms of losses to historic places, not just individual buildings, but entire neighborhoods.”
Some properties have already burned, Fine said, including the Keller House, a modernist building built by Ray Cappy in 1991. But it's not just modern architectural landmarks that are being lost.
More modest places will be missed, too, said William Fowler, an app developer who was evacuated from Topanga Canyon, in the Santa Monica Mountains. The Malibu Feedstock, a rustic barn-like building where people bought animal feed and firewood, burned, as did The Reel Inn, a fish and chip shop along the Pacific Coast Highway, he said.
“A lot of things will never be the same,” he said. But he believes people still want to live on the Los Angeles coast, despite the devastation caused by the fires.
He added: “Everyone knows the risks.” “People will want to build back into the barriers.”
Cartography by Stephen Bernard
