News | International
16 Jan 2025 16:15
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > International

    Before-and-after images of Los Angeles fires expose their devastating scale

    Multiple fires burning in Los Angeles, California, have razed neighbourhoods and decimated Hollywood landmarks in one of the country's worst-ever fire disasters.


    Satellite images have captured the trail of destruction left by fires burning in Los Angeles and its surrounding communities.

    The fires have been burning since Monday and have razed just over 11 square kilometres of the city.

    Thousands of homes and buildings have been destroyed and residents across the city have been evacuated from their homes as they continue to burn.

    Satellite images from Maxar Technologies have captured the drastic change to the city in just a few short days, and paint a bleak picture of the clean-up still ahead for authorities.

    An iconic stretch of the Pacific Highway near Malibu was destroyed earlier this week, lost in the Pacific Palisades fire which has caused the most widespread damage of the blazes so far.

    The Palisades fire is the largest burning in the county, and encompasses much of the western side of Los Angeles between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Monica Mountains.

    The Palisades fire has burned through thousands of structures, including five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and grocery stores.

    It also razed parts of Will Rogers State Historic Park and destroyed multi-million-dollar homes in the Summit neighbourhood.

    Authorities said it was the Pacific Palisades fire that ignited 'block after block' from the region towards inland Altadena and sparked the Eaton blaze.

    The total number of homes lost in the Palisades is still not known, but celebrities like Spencer Pratt, Paris Hilton and James Woods lost their homes in the blaze.

    Meanwhile, the deadliest fire was in Eaton.

    Altadena sits north of the city of Pasadena and is surrounded by bushland in the Angeles National Forrest and San Gabriel Mountains.

    The fire has killed at least five people and seriously injured a number of others since it started.

    Evacuation orders remain in place by the City of Los Angeles regarding the Eaton fire, meaning more than 130,000 people remain displaced.

    Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin told Altadena residents somewhere "between 200 and 500 structures" have been damaged or lost in the Eaton fire alone.

    That number has since risen to more than 5,000 structures.

    Across the LA area, about 450,000 homes and businesses remain without power due to significant damage to infrastructure and electrical lines.

    The total number of destroyed houses and buildings is yet to be released, but an independent research team at the financial services company J.P. Morgan told USA Today an early estimate for the damage was already at about $16 billion.

    As the clean-up continues, firefighters are concerned conditions will only worsen throughout the week.

    The Santa Ana winds are expected to impact the wildfires and potentially spread them beyond the current control zones.

    Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said at a press conference on Thursday it was important the city understood the worst was not over.

    "We're adapting in real time," she said.

    "We are still facing strong and erratic winds and in the Palisades and Sylmar, we are very much in active fire fight.

    "I am making sure we leave no resource untapped."

    with Reuters and AP

    © 2025 ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved

     Other International News
     16 Jan: What we know about the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas
     16 Jan: Israel and Hamas officials reach Gaza ceasefire deal
     16 Jan: Live updates: Joe Biden delivers final address as US president after Israel and Hamas agree to ceasefire
     16 Jan: Saving food in your fridge and freezer during a power outage
     16 Jan: From the classroom to war, how Australian Oscar Jenkins fought for Ukraine
     16 Jan: Vanuatu holds snap election as nation braces for costly post-earthquake reconstruction effort
     15 Jan: Possible deal for Gaza ceasefire and release of hostages at the 'closest point' yet, officials say
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    All Blacks loose forward Wallace Sititi's set to miss an extended period of rugby - after news he'll undergo surgery on a knee injury tomorrow More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    ‘AI agents’ promise to arrange your finances, do your taxes, book your holidays – and put us all at risk More...



     Today's News

    Rugby:
    All Blacks loose forward Wallace Sititi's set to miss an extended period of rugby - after news he'll undergo surgery on a knee injury tomorrow 16:07

    Business:
    ‘AI agents’ promise to arrange your finances, do your taxes, book your holidays – and put us all at risk 16:07

    Entertainment:
    Bad Bunny wants to "put his life at risk" in a WWE ring 16:05

    Entertainment:
    Taylor Swift's fans are stricken with an "emotional hangover" in the wake of the singer's global 'Eras Tour' ending 15:35

    Golf:
    A return to the professional golf tour for Ryan Fox as he tees off in the DP World Tour's Dubai Desert Classic this afternoon 15:27

    Law and Order:
    What we know about the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas 15:07

    Entertainment:
    Paris Hilton is planning to foster a dog given up during the LA wildfires 15:05

    Auckland:
    A crane barge is expected to recover a sunken fishing vessel in the Hauraki Gulf today 14:57

    Entertainment:
    Neil Gaiman has been hit by a new string of sexual assault allegations 14:35

    International:
    Israel and Hamas officials reach Gaza ceasefire deal 14:17


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd