Updated at Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. ET with new details, stories and behind the scenes images<\/strong><\/p>\n The eyes of the country remain on on Los Angeles, where 2025\u2019s first climate-related disaster is playing out in real time. On Tuesday Jan. 7, a severe windstorm swept through the L.A. region, igniting several fires that spread to engulf three major areas, including the Pacific Palisades, Eaton Canyon, and Sylmar. <\/p>\n Nearly a week later, the wildfires are estimated to have killed at least 27 people, and burned nearly 40,000 acres in the Los Angeles area. More than 12,000 structures have been destroyed by the Palisades and Eaton fires, placing them among the five most destructive fires in California\u2019s history. The economic loss from the disaster is estimated to top $250 billion. <\/p>\n National and local news outlets have been covering the wildfires on the ground since Jan. 7. TVNewser has collected the following accounts from correspondents in the field and their teams back in the studio as events unfold.<\/p>\n Ginger Zee, chief meteorologist\/chief climate correspondent for ABC News<\/strong> We met a Captain for LAFD who\u2019d just wrapped his shift when he learned both his house as well as his childhood home were being threatened by the Eaton fire. By the time he got there, there was a wall of fire consuming his neighbors\u2019 homes right across the street. He told me it was surreal, even as a seasoned fire captain, to see how far the fire had moved into this community he grew up in.\u00a0Luckily, he was able to get a fire hose from Pasadena fire and LA fire to use and he and his brother, who is also a firefighter, hooked it up to the fire hydrant on their corner. The hose only reached four houses in, but he was able to save at least those four.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The defining moment was seeing the sorrow in him and regret for wanting to have been able to do more. Here\u2019s a man who has built a career fighting fires but has never experienced a fire this close to home.<\/p>\n Chace Beech, multimedia journalist for Spectrum News 1<\/strong> Stephanie Sy, national correspondent for PBS News Hour<\/strong> Dan Grossman, national correspondent for Scripps News<\/strong> I covered the Lahaina wildfires for 9 days. I rode out Hurricane Ian and covered the aftermath. I reported on the Marshall Fire in Colorado the night it broke out, but nothing broke me like this one encounter.\u00a0There is something about witnessing an event\u2019s darkest moments at the same time those affected are experiencing them that is tragically beautiful. It\u2019s the human experience in its rawest state. It\u2019s what makes these stories matter. It\u2019s what connects us all.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Natasha Chen, national correspondent for CNN<\/strong> I also won\u2019t forget the people that day going in the OTHER direction, racing down the hill, abandoning their cars and dragging suitcases on foot, pets in tow. Finally, on Thursday, I met a lot of evacuees at the Pasadena Civic Center, one of the evacuation shelters. I spotted my friend that I knew from tap class. As soon as she saw me, she hugged me and broke down. Her house had burned to the ground. This is one of those moments where I felt that a big city became a small town. These fires are so large, in so many places, that everyone knows someone who\u2019s been affected.<\/p>\n Michelle Fisher, co-anchor ABC7 Eyewitness News<\/strong> Watch behind the scenes footage from ABC News\u2019 wildfires coverage<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Kayna Whitworth, anchor for ABC News Live<\/strong> On a personal note, I used to live in the Palisades area and have been under a mandatory evacuation for the second time in a month. This is a life defining moment, and I take pride in reporting on\u2014and in\u2014my community.<\/p>\n Marc Cota-Robles, anchor for ABC7 Eyewitness News<\/strong> <\/p>\n Jasmine Viel, anchor and reporter for CBS News Los Angeles<\/strong>What\u2019s been the most defining or haunting moment in this story for you so far?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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After the sun came up in Altadena, we drove around and started speaking to neighbors. We found out quickly that this part of Altadena has a concentrated population of first responders. Many of which have lost their homes in the Eaton fire.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.adweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Chace-Beech-Wildfires.jpeg?w=1024\")
A defining moment for me was driving back\u00a0to the Palisades village on Wednesday and seeing a neighborhood I\u2019ve\u00a0known well completely devastated. It\u2019s a sight that\u2019s hard to process.<\/p>\n
I interviewed a young woman at the main evacuation center in the Palisades. She had been staying at a church-run shelter for a few months to escape an abusive relationship. The Palisades fire reached the church and caught on fire in the middle of the night while she was sleeping. She fled with her backpack and took several buses and got to the evacuation center on foot. She was reading the Bible when I noticed her and seemed at peace. But as she recounted what she had just been through, she just started shaking and sobbing. She asked, when is all this pain going to end? I had no answer. But she said she would keep praying.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The image of a man walking down Iliff Street in the Pacific Palisades with nothing but a trash bag will stick with me for the rest of my life. He walked with a hunch; smoke, ash, and collapsed rubble lining both sides of the street next to him. As he approached, I asked if he lived in the area and if he needed any help. He looked up, eyes streaming with tears, and mumbled \u201cmy home\u201d through a broken voice. It\u2019s all he could say as he passed and wept.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The very first day, I watched parents of elementary-aged kids trying to rush past the roadblock in the Pacific Palisades to reach their kids at Marquez Elementary. Officers wouldn\u2019t let anyone past. Many of them parked their cars at the foot of the hill and ran up toward the fire to find their children. I knew that LA Unified was already in the process of trying to evacuate the students. I also knew\u2014as a mom of a 1-year-old\u2014what that could feel like as a parent, doing everything you can to get your child. I could feel their panic. Marquez Elementary ended up being one of the schools that sustained significant damage.<\/p>\n
As my photographer Tommy Harris<\/strong> and I drove down Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu late Tuesday night, the apocalyptic scene was unlike anything I have ever reported on. It was overwhelming in many ways, to not only see the burning homes, cars, and power poles on both sides of the highway, but also to feel the intense heat from the flames, through our news van. When I felt the heat, that\u2019s when my adrenaline spiked, and I felt uneasy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The conditions are challenging, but it\u2019s important for us to be in them and share with people what\u2019s going on. The Eaton fire was specifically a challenge because winds kept pushing embers toward us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The most haunting moment is difficult to answer, because there has been so much. From my personal experience of evacuating my children shortly after the fire started, and the intense winds, to seeing the widespread devastation firsthand. So many neighborhoods are reminiscent of a war zone, and that is no exaggeration. Home after home is leveled, and knowing that each property is tied to a family and thinking about the immense loss they have suffered is heartbreaking. On top of that, this is my extended community. I now know multiple people who have lost their homes. It is a community loss. Not only the homes, but the businesses devastated along N Lake Avenue and other areas. Places I have been. My children\u2019s favorite park suffered significant damage. All of that combined is haunting, and I do dip in and out of emotion when the realization becomes overwhelming.<\/p>\n
Covering the Palisades fire was an intense and humbling experience. When the wind suddenly shifted and flying ember suddenly hit me, while live on air, I was okay, but it was scary reminder of how unpredictable and dangerous these situations can be. While we\u2019re trained for moments like this and we have our protective gear and are practicing all safety measures, it doesn\u2019t make them any less real. But we do this work because it matters. Bringing critical information to our viewers\u2014even in the face of danger\u2014is why we do what we do.<\/p>\n