The most devastating stories and images to come out of the LA fires.

Last Wednesday, Los Angeles County experienced a series of unprecedented fires which have devastated nearly 10,000 structures in the area and led to mass evacuation orders.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has confirmed that 24 people have died so far, and the death toll is expected to rise.

The Palisades Fire began last Tuesday and was mostly located in the Pacific Palisades area along the coast, but rapidly expanded as strong winds swept through northwest Los Angeles.

Other fires, including the Eaton, Hurst, Lidia, Sunset, and Woodley blazes, are also raging across the region.

Santa Ana winds are expected to flare up Monday through Wednesday, but they won't be as powerful as those that previously fueled the fires.

"It looks like an atomic bomb dropped in these areas. I don't expect good news, and we're not looking forward to those numbers," Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at a press conference late on Thursday, referring to Pacific Palisades in the west and Altadena in the east.

Image: Getty.

As it stands at the time of publishing, the Palisades fire, the largest of the fires, has burned more than 20,000 acres and is thirteen per cent contained.

The Eaton fire, in the Pasadena area, has burned more than 14,000 acres and is twenty seven per cent contained. The Kenneth fire has burned about 1,000 acres and is now 100 per cent contained. The Lidia fire has burned 400 acres and is also 100 per cent contained. The Hurst fire has burned 800 acres and is 89 per cent contained.

More than 180,000 people were ordered to evacuate, with the number fluctuating as evacuation orders were issued continuously.

According to the tracking site poweroutage.us, over 1.5 million customers were without power on Wednesday.

"This is a tragic time in our history," Los Angeles County Police Department sheriff Jim McDonnell said on Wednesday. "These are… unprecedented conditions, but also unpredictable as the fire continues to spread and pop up in different locations. None of us know where the next one is going to be."

How did the fires spread so quickly?

According to the authorities in Los Angeles, "hurricane-force" winds, also known as Santa Ana winds, have been fuelling the fires. The aforementioned Palisades Fire, the most significant of all the fires, is now considered the most destructive in the city's history.

Image: Getty.

Santa Ana winds are dry, hot and gusty northeast winds that originate from Southern California's interior, blowing toward the coast and offshore. During a Santa Ana wind event, humidity levels often drop to single-digit percentages. This severe dryness causes both living and dead vegetation to lose moisture, making it highly vulnerable to ignition and fuelling potential fires.

The exact cause of the fires is still under investigation and remains undetermined.

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The impact of the LA fires in Hollywood.

As news was reported of the rapidly spreading wildfires throughout the Los Angeles area, the impact on Hollywood has made headlines around the world.

The location of the fires has also seen many celebrity homes and businesses caught in the crossfire.

As a result of the deadly fires, the 2025 Critics' Choice Awards — which were set to take place on January 12 — were postponed. Likewise, the announcement of the 2025 Oscar nominations has been postponed. The annual BAFTA Tea Party, scheduled for Friday, was cancelled.

Image: Getty.

The premieres of upcoming films Unstoppable, Better Man, The Pitt and Wolf Man have been cancelled. Events for awards season contenders Emilia Perez, Wicked, A Complete Unknown and The Last Showgirl have also been cancelled.

As fires continue to rage across Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Sylmar, TV shows including Hacks, Abbott Elementary, Fallout, Suits LA and Grey's Anatomy have halted production.

Stars including Paris Hilton, Rebel Wilson and Billy Crystal have all lost their homes to the fires. Click here to read everything the celebrities who have been affected have said about the tragedy.

Stories from the fires.

Thousands have been affected by the tragedy in LA and both heartfelt and devastating stories have come to light in the past week.

One, in particular, saw heartfelt footage that captured the emotional reunion of a California man and his cat after firefighters bravely rescued the pet from a fire ravaging his home.

Isaac Vaizman returned home Thursday to find his residence engulfed in flames. In a desperate plea, he begged the Los Angeles Fire Department to save his 14-year-old cat, Cheetah, who was trapped inside.

Image: Getty

The video shows Vaizman anxiously waiting and bursting into tears as a firefighter emerges with his cat safely.

"I tried to run in and they stopped me. It's like losing your kid. Same thing. She is my kid," Vaizman told NBC Los Angeles.

In another inspiring story, a Los Angeles veterinarian stepped up to shelter dozens of animals as their owners flee the raging Palisades Fire, putting her own safety at risk to care for them. 

Annie Harvilicz, 47, welcomed more than 40 dogs, cats, and even a rabbit named Oreo into her home and an empty veterinary clinic, on behalf of the owners who were unable to bring their pets with them due to lack of space or resources.

"I had a family bring in 10 dogs, and they had to leave behind their horses," she said. "To me, this is a no-brainer. I looked around and said, 'I have a lot of space here. I can help,'" Harvilicz said to The Post.

Meanwhile, on TikTok, a woman shared a video taken by her husband as the fires broke out at a site he was working at.

In the caption, she wrote that her husband said it happened "in the blink of an eye". Suddenly, "there was fire all over the place, and they were trapped".

Luckily, the firefighters arrived in time to rescue him, his friend, and a dog that was at the home.

@isabel_mc89

Getting this video from my husband yesterday was just terrifying, I’ve seen his friend video circulate the internet and the comments asking”why didn’t they leave “ others saying “they are tik tokers “my husband and his friend were working on that job site the fire was from across and there was no evacuation at the moment when they saw the fire come closer they starting packing up to leave and in a blink of an eye he said there was fire all over the place they were trapped, they couldn’t get out he said, the house next door burnt and I’m just grateful the fire fighters got there on time they are both safe and so is the dog he was and still in shocked, already thinking the worst as he was telling me what happen I swear I felt like I was in a horror movie, this is why I’m so grateful when we all come back home after leaving in the morning for work or school thank you god for bringing my husband there dad back home safe to us, thank you my angel #palisadesfire

♬ original sound - Isabel m

Another Los Angeles resident, Kennedy Crichlow, shared a devastating reality after her home was burnt to the ground.

Pregnant and due to deliver in April, Crichlow expressed the immense grief her and her family are experiencing as a result of losing their home.

"This was our sweet home full of so much love and peace and belongings that had so many memories associated," she wrote in an Instagram story.

"My heart is a thousand pieces for our community!!!"

Image: Instagram/kennedycrichlow.

Even those risking their lives to fight the fires have shown incredible humanity through these challenging times. As the Los Angeles wildfires have raged, firefighters deliberately saved cherished possessions from a burning home.

In video shared by local NBC affiliate KNBC, multiple firefighters from the Los Angeles Fire Department were spotted retrieving items from the fire, including piles of photo albums that hold precious memories.

When asked about what they were doing, one firefighter said, "Yeah, just trying to save some photos."

@nbcla

Firefighters responding to the #PalisadesFire saved several belongings from a burning home. LAFD’s No. 37 station was on Lachman Lane battling the fire when some firefighters began moving photo albums, a grandfather clock and other belongings. “Just trying to save some photos,” one firefighter said. #wildfire #LAfire #PalisadesFire #nbcla #SoCal #LAFD #firefighters

♬ original sound - NBCLA

Speaking to US news channel MSNBC, actor Jennifer Garner and longtime Pacific Palisades resident shared that one of her friends is amongst those lost.

"I did lose a friend, and for our church, it's really tender, so I don't feel like we should talk about it yet," she said. "I did lose a friend. She didn't get out in time."

She went on: "My heart bleeds for my friends… I can think of 100 families, and there are 5,000 homes lost. I can, without even [thinking], I could just write out a list of 100 friends who lost their homes. I feel almost guilty walking through my house."

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Feature Image: Getty.

Written with AAP.

This article was originally published on January 10 and has since been updated.