Southern California had faced drought for months, which helped create the right conditions for a massive fire. Then the Santa Ana wings moved in, and forecasters warned that settings were “about as bad as it gets in terms of fire weather.”

This week, that environmental spark was lit and Los Angeles burned.

Los Angeles has faced days of wildfires that have torn through communities, leaving 10 dead and unimaginable scenes of destruction. An award-winning author has shared with The Independent how the conditions had been forming for months and led to the spate of wildfires.

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Chef Jose Andreas’ World Central Kitchen nonprofit is supporting firefighters as they continue to battle wildfires in Los Angeles.

“This is as devastating as you can see, we’ve seen it before, fires like this,” Andres said in a video posted on X.

World Central Kitchen volunteers help provide food during disasters around the world.

He implored the federal government to help the victims of the fires rebuild, and for the public not to forget about those affected in the aftermath of the fires.

“We need to make sure that when the cameras are off and we are all in the crazy daily life where we forget about events like this, we cannot forget people,” he said.

Matthew Perry’s former Pacific Palisades home, where he tragically died from a ketamine overdose in 2023, has miraculously survived the devastating wildfires raging through the city of Los Angeles.

The four-bedroom, four-bathroom property, located in the affluent coastal neighborhood west of L.A., survived the catastrophic Palisades fire that has gone on to burn more than 22,661 acres, the home’s new owner has confirmed on Instagram.

“It’s hard to put into words how devastated we feel. It’s been such a tough week, but we are incredibly thankful to have learned that our house is okay,” wrote Anita Verma-Lallian, a real estate developer and film producer, who purchased Perry’s estate last October for $8.5 million.

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California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Saturday he is doubling the number of National Guard members deployed to the Los Angeles area.

In total, 1,680 National Guard members will be in the area to “help fight the Los Angeles fires” and to maintain order in the affected communities.

“We are grateful for their continued bravery and commitment to be of service to others,” he said in a statement on Saturday.

Anthony and Justin Mitchell Anthony Mitchell and his son, Justin, reportedly died in Altadena due to the Eaton fire. One of the 67-year-old’s children, Justin, had cerebral palsy and did not walk. Anthony Mitchell was an amputee and used a wheelchair to get around.

His son, also named Anthony, told NBC News that his father likely could have escaped their home himself, but would never have left his son Justin alone.

The father was found dead next to Justin’s bed. Justin also died due to the fire.

Erliene Louise Kelly

Kelly chose not to evacuate when the Eaton fire neared her home in Altadena. She was killed on Thursday evening when the fire overtook her home.

Victor Shaw

Shaw chose to stay behind and attempt to fight the fire at his Altadena home. He was found dead with a garden house in his hand just outside him home.

Rodney Kent Nickerson

Nickerson’s daughter told KCAL that her father said he would be fine, and chsoe to stay behind at his home in Altadena. She last heard from him while he was spraying water around his property as the Eaton fire neared.

Rory Sykes

A former Australian child star, Sykes died after he was unable to be rescued from a cottage he lived inside on his mother’s property in Malibu. The cottage caught fire and his mother was unable to reach him before the building was engulfed in flames.

Sykes had cerebral palsy and was unable to evacuate himself from the cottage.

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Saturday he would send firefighting resources to assist with the fire response efforts in California.

The state will send more than 135 firefighters, emergency, and medical responders, as well as 45 vehicles including fire engines, ambulances, command vehicles and equipments, according to a Texas press release.

“Texans know all too well the devastation wildfires can cause to our communities, and our country is stronger when we come together in times of crisis,” Abbott said in a statement.

Los Angeles area residents are returning to their homes to find nothing but ash and rubble as wildfires devastate Southern California.

The Palisades and Eaton fires, along with other smaller blazes, have burned more than 36,000 acres of land throughout the Los Angeles area. At least ten people are dead and more than 10,000 structures have been destroyed by the flames as of Friday afternoon.

The deadly fires prompted some 200,000 people across Southern California to evacuate their homes. As evacuation orders are lifted for certain neighborhoods, many residents are returning to find their homes and belongings reduced to rubble.

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Rory Callum Sykes, a British-born former child actor, has died in the wildfires that have devastated California this week.

Sykes, who featured in the Australian TV series Kiddy Kapers, was at his family’s home in Malibu when he died at the age of 32.

The news was announced on X/Twitter by his mother, Shelley Sykes, who also starred in the 1998 reality series.

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Pope Francis offered his “heartfelt prayers” to the victims of the widlfires in Los Angeles, according to a statement from the Vatican.

“Saddened by the loss of life and the widespread destruction caused by the fires near Los Angeles, his holiness Pope Francis assures you and the communities affected by this tragedy of his spiritual closeness,” the statement said.

It continued, saying the Pope is praying “for the relief efforts of the emergency services personnel.”

Nearly 50,000 power customers are in the dark in Southern California as of this morning, according to PowerOutage.us.

Wildfires in the area have disrupted power to approximately 47,998 homes and businesses in the Los Angeles area. Approximately half of the outages affect LA Department of Water and Power customers, while the other half affects Southern California Edison customers, according to the data.