‘Flames consumed dreams’: Despair engulfs Los Angeles wildfire survivors

The California wildfires forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes in a bid to escape the rapidly spreading flames.

The devastation caused by the wildfires across Los Angeles, a city in the United States' California, has brought immense despair for the residents, whose homes have been reduced to ashes, businesses lost to flames and vehicles left in shambles.

The Los Angeles wildfire, including those in Palisades and Eaton, reduced several homes to ashes. (AFP)

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, 26,978 acres of land have burned down in the wind-whipped wildfire.

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Several Hollywood celebrities, including Adam Brody, Billy Crystal, and Paris Hilton, have lost their homes to the blaze along with tens of thousands of other LA residents.

‘Lost dreams’

"We have lost practically everything," one William Gonzales told AFP while pointing towards the smouldering ruins of his home, where embers and a chimney are the only remaining pieces.

Gonzales said that the "flames have consumed all our dreams".

Cries of the immense loss were witnessed across Los Angeles as more than 100,000 people were forced to flee their homes to escape the rapidly spreading flames.

Firefighters, almost running short of water, have been battling the blaze relentlessly since Tuesday.

Streets across towns in the Californian city were covered in ashes, with buildings in flames, and residents and businessmen dealing with the loss of their livelihood.

A shopkeeper, in his sixties, seen by AFP, in front of his destroyed liquor store and sobbing, "This was my whole life". The grim situation in the city witnessed thousands of dreams being swept away by the wildfire.

Hopes of the fire being contained soon did not seem bright as the Santa Ana winds, blowing in the city, made it difficult for firefighters to douse the blaze. These winds, which are a classic part of autumns and winters in California, reached an intensity that has not been seen since 2011, weather experts were cited by AFP.

Fighting spirit

Another Californian, David Stewart, a resident of Pacific Palisades, kept his spirits high along with those of others as he said that he was not prepared to just surrender his neighbourhood to the flames.

"The county turned off our water supply so we're out there with shovels throwing dirt on fires," he told AFP, adding that they saved houses of three neighbours, but the fires are still coming at their homes.

As Stewart looked at his neighbourhood, he struggled to recount the area he has lived in his whole life. "This was a just a little antique shop, a pizza place. These places have been here forever, ever since I've been alive," he added.

Meanwhile, a worried father Jesse Banks was trying to find his son, who had fled the flames earlier in the day.

"My son left the house before us on foot, he doesn't have a cell phone or anything like that, so I'm searching for him now," he was quoted by AFP.

Banks said that he has lived in the neighbourhood for more than 20 years and though they have seen fires in the hills, they have never witnessed anything like this current scenario.

Kindness, loss and pain

With the continued spreading of the wildfire, citizens had harrowing escapes from their homes and other spaces by foot, car or even with the help of strangers.

One such devastating account was given by one Aaron Samson, who placed his 83-year-old father-in-law behind his blue walked as they began to shuffle down the sidewalk.

Samson told the Associated Press that his father-in-law told him, "Aaron, if we are ever in a position where the flames are right there, you just run and leave me there."

Thankfully, the situation did not end up in that position as a kind-hearted stranger gave them a ride and drove them to safety in Santa Monica.

EJ Soto, on the other hand, had to leave behind her childhood home of 30 years in Altadena, along with her mother, two nieces, sister and husband in the wee hours as the flames came way too close.

She witnessed her neighbours' homes go up in flames, and then her own.

Battle not yet over

Unfortunately, the battle is far from over. While wind speeds mellowed down across LA, red flag warnings continued to be in place.

Ariel Cohen, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service Los Angeles, told CNN that the winds are gusting at a lower rate of 30-50 mph throughout LA.

With the red flag warnings still in place, Cohen indicated the potential for "large fire development" across the region.

“Just because we’re not seeing the same strength of winds as we saw last night, I urge everyone to remain at a high state of vigilance, as we still have these fires growing and we still have the winds to create the rapid spread,” he was quoted as saying, adding that the winds will take a few days, likely through the end of the week, to subside.

(with inputs from agencies)