Images from space show devastation of raging Los Angeles fires

Satellite images show the massive scale of destruction caused by huge, fast-moving wildfires in Southern California that were still raging through Friday (Jan. 10), killing at least 10 people, injuring many more and charring over 34,000 acres of land populated by thousands of homes and businesses.

The timelapse video above shows smoke billowing from the wind-driven coastal Palisades fire in the lower left — the largest of five fast-moving wildfires in Southern California. This particular wildfire ravaged nearly 20,000 acres since it ignited on Tuesday morning (Jan. 7), becoming the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history. At the time of writing this article, the Palisades fire is 8% contained.

Another major blaze, the Eaton Fire, is seen in the upper right ravaging Altadena, Pasadena. This wildfire has scorched about 10,600 acres and remains only 3% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. A number of actively burning buildings under a blanket of smoke due to this fire were imaged by Colorado-based Maxar Technologies, whose satellite is equipped with an infrared sensor that can see through dense smoke to detect fire hotspots on the ground.

Buildings viewed aerially

An image captured of East Altadena Drive in California on Jan. 6. (Image credit: Courtesy of Maxar Technologies)

Burning buildings viewed aerially

An infrared image captures of East Altadena Drive in California on Jan. 8. (Image credit: Courtesy of Maxar Technologies)

Another set of images capture the charred aftermath of houses that burned along the Pacific Coast Highway, and the remains of Malibu homes where the Palisades fire had retreated.

Buildings viewed aerially

A neighborhood in Pacific Palisades, California on Oct. 20, 2024. (Image credit: Courtesy of Maxar Technologies.)

Buildings that used to be seen aerially are now burned and destroyed. Lingering smoke is in the air.

The same neighborhood as seen above, but imaged on Jan. 9. (Image credit: Courtesy of Maxar Technologies)

The Eaton fire spread to the base of Mount Wilson on Thursday (Jan. 9), temporarily threatening a slew of transmitters and antennas used for TV and radio station communications, and knocking out the power at the historic Mount Wilson Observatory.

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