Satellite imagery reveals total destruction of homes in LA fires amid grim warnings from officials about escalating casualties

Interactive maps have been released to reveal the destruction caused by the fires in Los Angeles. These maps provide a vital look into the condition of homes for displaced residents who are still unable to return.

The death toll has reached 24, and residents are bracing themselves for another three days of challenging weather conditions. The forecast predicts strong winds and low humidity, which could worsen the fires and cause them to spread in different directions.

CalFire warned that harsher winds and more fire would prevent those under mandatory evacuation orders from returning home to assess the damage.  

CalFire issued a warning about life-threatening winds and extremely dry air from Ventura to San Diego. These conditions significantly increase the risk of the fires spreading rapidly.

‘The winds will cause increased fire activity.’ 

The fires have destroyed 40,000 acres across the most affluent neighborhoods in LA, with A-list celebrity homes and restaurant hotspots among the 12,300 structures wiped out. 

Helpless locals are now turning to the maps to assess the damage remotely, learning through thousands of pictures which homes have been razed, and those which were miraculously spared.

The Eaton fire map shows the ravaged mountainous areas of Altadena and Pasadena, including Mandy Moore’s family home, crews have inspected 3,800 structures – about 24 per cent of the evacuation zone which was decimated by fire.

Kevin Bohall, a unified commander with Cal Fire, said 1,422 of the structures they’ve reached so far were entirely destroyed. A further 212 sustained some level of damage.

Among the carnage and devastation, the map shows four houses in a row that somehow still stand seemingly untouched – while surrounded by ash and rubble. 

Other streets are entirely razed, and there are instances in which some homes were only slightly damaged while neighboring properties were entirely wiped out.

The extraordinary map informs users of the extent of the damage on a sliding scale and serves as a stark illustration of the unprecedented spread of the two largest fires.

A black illustration means the house was spared, while green means it was hit with minor damage.

Orange means that it was significantly damaged, and red means the home or structure was destroyed entirely. 

There are several examples of unlucky home owners who will immediately notice their homes are the only red houses in the street on the illustration, showing that their homes were destroyed even as those all around were untouched.

As authorities continue to gain access to and inspect evacuation zones, these maps will be updated. 

‘If there is not a color icon on your address, it means a building has not yet been inspected,’ officials said.

Authorities have warned it is not yet safe for residents to return to the scorched communities themselves, with asbestos-filled ash and dangerous debris in amongst the carnage.

Officials warned the ash can contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials.

The fires continue to burn as:

LA city Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said ‘there are still active fires that are burning within the Palisades area, making it extremely, extremely dangerous for the public. 

‘There’s no power, there’s no water, there’s broken gas lines, and we have unstable structures.’

Efforts will ramp up further as the blazes are contained, but an urgent weather warning issued on Sunday revealed there is still a heightened risk for the next 72 hours.

Officials warned the ash can contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials.

Authorities issued a rare ‘particularly dangerous situation’ red flag warning – which was also issued the day before the initial fires broke out last week. 

The Eaton blaze has burned through 14,117 acres of land, an estimated 7,000 structures and 16 people have been found dead in the charred rubble, making it the fifth deadliest fire on record in California even as it still tears through the mountains.

The inferno is 27 per cent contained, but there are mounting fears that the wild weather forecast for the next 72 hours will only fuel the flames and make it harder to contain.

But Eaton’s size has been eclipsed by the Palisades fire spreading closer to the coast, which has ripped through celebrity enclaves from Pacific Palisades to Malibu and threatened homes in Brentwood and Santa Monica.

The Palisades map shows the blaze that burned through 23,707 of prime southern California real estate, destroying the homes of A-listers including Miles Teller, Paris Hilton and Mel Gibson and razing entire neighborhoods to the ground.

It spread from the celebrity enclave of Pacific Palisades up the coast to Malibu, where it destroyed the iconic houses along the beach. 

Craig Fugate, who led the Federal Emergency Management Agency during the Obama administration, told the Los Angeles Times on Sunday LA is experiencing a natural disaster as significant as Hurricane Katrina was on New Orleans.

‘This is your Hurricane Katrina,’ he said. 

‘It will forever change the community. It will be a touch point that everybody will remember, before and after. 

‘And for Los Angeles, this will become one of the defining moments of the community, the city and the county’s history.’

Fugate said the difference between flood and fire is what is left behind.

‘With wildfires, there’s nothing left but ash. It’s almost like a total erasure of their history. 

‘For a lot of people, that’s going to be the compounding trauma. It’s not only that they lost their home, they lost their memories.’ 

Hurricane Katrina killed more than 1,800 people.

Miles Bliss, for the National Weather Service, provided a grim update on Sunday afternoon, warning strong Santa Ana winds which fueled the infernos last week will intensify once again.

‘Critical fire weather conditions will be expected during this time so please be prepared to evacuate if told so by officials,’ he said.

The weather is expected to contribute to another stint of dangerous and potentially extreme fire conditions which could exacerbate the fires already burning and cause more new ones to pop up.

Chief Crowley said: ‘It’s very important that the community understands that these wind events are coming.’

These conditions have prompted a red flag warning until 6pm Wednesday. 

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said authorities won’t consider allowing displaced residents to return home until after that warning has been lifted.

‘Unfortunately, those conversations are not going to begin until the next predicted red flag ends on Wednesday,’ he said.

‘Please rest assured that first thing Thursday, we will start talking about re-population and evacuation order and warning areas,’ he said in a Sunday news conference.

Authorities are also under mounting pressure to reveal the cause of the raging infernos.

The Palisades Fire – the largest of the three blazes ripping through Los Angeles -ignited on January 7, but just a week earlier firefighters were called to the Pacific Palisades shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day to a small brush fire residents claim was started by fireworks.

The blaze, called the Lachman Fire, was held at eight acres and reported contained at 4:46 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).

Satellite imagery obtained by the Post identified a burn scar of the New Year’s Eve fire. Additional imagery taken on Tuesday when the Palisades Fire broke out indicates that the origin of the smoke overlapped with the burn scar.

University of California at Berkeley professor Michael Gollner told the Washington Post that fires can rekindle despite appearing burnt out.

‘We know that fires rekindle and transition from smoldering to flaming,’ she said.

‘It’s certainly possible that something from that previous fire, within a week, had rekindled and caused the ignition.’

Chief Crowley was asked directly about the similarities and possibility that one sparked another on Sunday afternoon. 

‘We do not have any information that there’s any connections but that’s the good thing when we bring in an outside resource that is going to look into every single detail,’ Crowley said.