Tracking the damage from the wildfire in Los Angeles on a map

On January 17, 2025By Littum

CNN
—

Entire neighborhoods burned to the ground. Dozens of victims after people either could not leave or chose not to flee their homes. The Los Angeles wildfires of 2025 have left incredible destruction in their wake.

Although official damage assessments are still ongoing, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection estimates that more than 12,300 structures have been damaged or destroyed in the Palisades and Eaton fires.

The Palisades fire has been the largest in terms of area burned. The iconic Malibu restaurant Moonshadows was completely destroyed, as was the Palisades Branch Library. Palisades Charter High School suffered extensive damage. Here’s an analysis of the building damage with what we know now:

Kevin Marshall searches his mother's fire-ravaged property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Saturday.

The Eaton fire, though smaller in circumference than the Palisades fire, likely claimed more buildings, estimates suggest. Here’s an analysis of what we know about the damage to Los Angeles County’s hard-hit Altadena neighborhood:

See satellite images from Maxar of part of Altadena before and after the Eaton fire ravaged the area.

A firefighter stands in the burned auditorium at Eliot Arts Magnet Academy in Altadena on Sunday.

The severity of the LA fires has also highlighted that many American communities have limited emergency evacuation plans in place. After the Palisades fire first broke out on January 7, many residents of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood struggled to get out due to traffic bottlenecks, with some forced to abandon their cars and flee on foot. Small communities may be particularly vulnerable: Hundreds of cities were identified as having limited evacuation routes, according to a analysis by Streetlight Data, an analytics service that tracks transportation data.

The Palisades and Eaton fires have already climbed to the top of the list of most destructive fires in LA County history and currently sit at No. 3 and no. 4 on the list of most destructive wildfires in California state history, since at least 1991.

This story is in development and will be updated.