Mapping the Damage From the Palisades Fire

More than 5,000 structures have been destroyed by the Palisades fire, California officials said on Thursday. An analysis of satellite images by Microsoft offered a glimpse of the devastation in one section of Pacific Palisades, a wealthy neighborhood between Malibu and Santa Monica.

In this one area alone, there appeared to be more than 2,000 buildings that were damaged or destroyed, according to the analysis.

The results of the analysis are estimates, and they are limited by the presence of wildfire smoke partially obscuring satellites.

As firefighters continued on Thursday to battle the Palisades and major wildfires burning across the Los Angeles area, the full scope of the damage remained unclear. But officials said the Palisades and the Eaton fire, burning to the east near Pasadena, were likely among the most devastating fires in the state’s recorded history. Officials suggested that 5,000 buildings may have also burned because of the Eaton fire.

The Palisades fire began on Tuesday and quickly grew. By Thursday, it had charred more than 20,000 acres, and remained out of control.

Aerial photographs of Pacific Palisades showed that the fire leveled whole swaths of the neighborhood near the Palisades Village shopping mall, north of Sunset Boulevard.

Widespread damage was also visible in this section of the Pacific Palisades south of Sunset Boulevard, bordered by the Pacific Coast Highway to the south. Only a few houses appeared to be standing amid the destruction.

Across the city, the Eaton fire continued to burn uncontrollably as well. It encompassed more than 13,000 acres by Thursday evening, forcing nearby residents to evacuate.