The sun glared red as it sank into the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, casting an orange hue over the carnage smoldering on the southern Californian coast. It will be a day not soon forgotten in Los Angeles, which by evening was flanked by catastrophic wildfires in nearly all directions.

It’s too early to determine the full extent of the destruction caused by the blazes, but in the neighborhoods bordering the Palisades fire it was clear the impact was enormous.

Throughout the day, cell phones of residents in nearby communities sounded warnings when mandatory evacuation lines were extended as the wind-fueled fires continued to spread. Exhausted residents, including some who already had experienced frantic escapes, raced to again escape the danger.

One man, taking refuge in an upscale Brentwood eatery called the signal “the soundtrack of the week”. He’d just learned his home was among those that had been lost in the Palisades fire, still raging through the canyons above Santa Monica and Malibu.

Many others will receive the same news in the coming days.

Firefighters douse a beach house destroyed by the Palisades fire is seen along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, on 8 January, 2025. Photograph: Zoe Meyers/AFP/Getty Images

Firefighters refueling their trucks and stocking up on snacks on Wednesday afternoon — a short reprieve from their around-the-clock battles in the dangerous conditions — said the destruction is unlike any they’d seen in their decades-long careers.

Unauthorized to speak on record, they shared anecdotal intel from the fiery frontline: By one firefighter’s estimates only about one out of every five homes had been spared in the charred canyons left by the sprawling fire.

The world-famous stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway — a picturesque beachside road between Santa Monica and Malibu has been left in ruin. Still-smoldering structures that line the highway in the slopes above and against the sea spat flames and smoke into the evening night sky on Wednesday as blackened palm trees heaved in the unyielding winds.

The region has been hammered by catastrophic fires before – and not that long ago.

Hundreds of homes were lost in the Mountain fire that burned to the north in November, followed by dozens more in the Franklin fire that scorched Malibu last month. In the weeks since, hoped-for rains never came and thirsty landscapes continued to dry. Strong wind events that are typical for this time of year only added chaos to the fire-primed conditions, causing blazes to quickly spread.

The Palisades fire pushed deeper into the densely covered dry hillsides, closing in on communities and homes that dot the picturesque area overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The wind whips embers as the Palisades fire burns during a windstorm on the west side of Los Angeles, California, on January 8, 2025. Photograph: Ringo Chiu/Reuters

As the black smoke billowed over the mountains and flames flickered on the ridge on Wednesday morning, many residents in Topanga Canyon, an artistic and rural enclave that is familiar with navigating chaotic fires had already evacuated. The roads winding through the canyon were empty save for the remaining few that chose to stay and those on their way out. Small groups paused at overlooks to watch as the fire ripped through the area from which they had just fled.

Among them, Matt and Joseph Brown, father and son, who’d collectively spent several decades living in the area. In the past 24 hours, Joseph had been part of a frantic and chaotic evacuation out of the Palisades when the fire first erupted. He then helped Matt and his family as they rushed to gather up animals — horses, dogs, and mini donkey — before the flames reached them. Chickens and bunnies in a coop, Matt said, had to be left behind.

Visual explainer: why are the LA wildfires so bad?

Neighbors who stayed, protected by privately-hired fire crews, gave him the news shortly after that the coop and its inhabitants along with their guest house was consumed by the fire.

Farther down the road, Jane Connelly was still working to save her horse Louie who had been so frightened in the chaos he’d refused to get into a trailer. She decided to walk him out on a lead instead. “I had to get the dogs, cats, and child out first,” she said, breathing heavily as she quickly walked along the side of the sloping road. After 15 years in this area, this was a sad first.