A man walks in front of the burning Altadena Community Church, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in in Pasadena, Calif. (AP/Chris Pizzello)
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Fierce wildfires are raging in the Los Angeles area, fueled by powerful Santa Ana winds, sending residents fleeing from burning homes through flames, ferocious winds and towering clouds of smoke. Thousands of firefighters were battling at least three separate blazes on Wednesday, from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena.
Here’s the latest:
Pacific Palisades Fire Is More Destructive Than 2008’s Sayre Fire
With an estimated 1,000 structures destroyed and the flames still growing on Wednesday, it is far more destructive than the second-most destructive, according to statistics kept by the Wildfire Alliance, a partnership between the city’s fire department and MySafe:LA.
Structures refers to homes and other buildings.
The last most destructive fire was the Sayre Fire in November 2008 that destroyed 604 structures in Sylmar, the northernmost suburb of the city.
Before that, a 1961 Bel Air fire stood for nearly half a century as the most destructive fire in the city’s history. It burned nearly 500 houses in the tony hillside enclave, including the homes of actor Burt Lancaster, Zsa Zsa Gabor and other celebrities.