Author: Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – From the air, once-thriving Los Angeles neighborhoods devastated by recent wildfires now look like block after block of grayish-brown ash and rubble. Sunlight bounces off the skeletal remains of homes, restaurants and shops.
The only bright colors seen from a helicopter flight over the fire-damaged area on Wednesday came from a few red cars and a yellow one. Traffic was light as residents of most of the region continued to be kept away.
Some stone chimneys and trees stood defiantly tall in Altadena, the town that bore the brunt of the Easton Fire.
In one street, the white picket fence remained unscathed from the inferno, the door opened, but a house a few steps away was burned to the ground. Another area showed a dozen intact houses while others around it were burned.
Several backyard swimming pools, burned cars and twisted metal from houses could be seen from the sky.
To the west, the Palisades Fire scarred the hillside where the luxury enclave offered postcard-perfect views of the Pacific Ocean.
Since the two fires broke out on Jan. 7, they have burned an area nearly the size of Washington, D.C., killed 28 people and damaged or destroyed nearly 16,000 structures, Cal Fire said.
From Wednesday, Eaton (NYSE:) The fire is 91% contained and the Palisades Fire is 68% contained.
Columns of smoke from a new wildfire rose north of Los Angeles on Wednesday. The Hughes fire quickly spread to 9,400 hectares (38 square kilometers), forcing the mandatory evacuation of more than 31,000 people.
