Heartbroken families, displaced business owners and jolted community leaders are facing the daunting challenge of rebuilding in areas gutted over the past week by the massive wildfires in Los Angeles County.
Drone images captured over the area display the sweeping devastation left behind as the Palisades fire tore through beachfront homes in Malibu.
The photos, by SCNG staff photographer Jeff Gritchen, were shot with Federal Aviation Administration authorization and the cooperation of CalFire. Drones were allowed into the area, but only with permission, on Wednesday after being banned amid safety concerns as the fires raged.
The photos display the unprecedented impact on the community, with rows of once-thriving businesses and palatial seaside homes turned to grey mounds of rubble.
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of a home along Rambla Pacifico St that burned above Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades fire in Malibu as seen on Wednesday. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of a home along Rambla Pacifico St that burned above Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Burn scares in the hills above Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The remains of beachside homes that burned along Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Southern California News Group photojournalist Jeff Gritchen, is a licensed Part 107 pilot with the FAA.
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