Rows of the remains of charred homes filled the Los Angeles landscape as flames engulfed entire neighborhoods. But among the crumbling walls, some homes stand untouched. Through a mixture of luck and building design, handfuls of houses in neighborhoods otherwise reduced to ash withstood the punishing flames that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at […]
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AP PHOTOS: Amid charred neighborhoods, a handful of L.A. homes remain untouched
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Rows of the remains of charred homes filled the Los Angeles landscape as flames engulfed entire neighborhoods.
But among the crumbling walls, some homes stand untouched.
Through a mixture of luck and building design, handfuls of houses in neighborhoods otherwise reduced to ash withstood the punishing flames that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people.
The differences were stark: One home atop a hill stood between burnt trees and bushes, with untouched belongings visible from the windows. Below, the remains of others’ homes — from parts of roofs, fences, walls to air conditioning units and chair swings — were singed and crumpled.
The Walsh House, featured in the “Beverly Hills 90210″ television series, survived. So did its pristine lawn. Next door, the remains of a neighbor’s home was blackened with soot.
Some beachfront properties were also spared, with rows of scorched trees making way for a cluster of unspoiled homes. Others had a different fate, with roofs and trees collapsing into homes, and emergency services working through the debris.
One man, David Slater, swept the driveway of his intact home just feet away from the charred remains of his neighbor’s car and a broken wall. Behind the gate of Slater’s home, too, lay fallen trees and debris.
California’s wildfires bear the fingerprints of climate change. Atmospheric rivers dumped huge amounts of water on the region that caused plenty of plant growth. Then, drought dried them out, creating perfect fodder for the flames.
Firefighters are preparing for a return of dangerous winds that could again stoke the flames on Monday.
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