Before and after photos show scale of destruction from LA wildfires

As firefighters battled to contain the fire that threatens the city’s most well-known landmarks, the death toll from the wildfires that are ravaging the Los Angeles area has increased to 16.

As firefighters worked against the clock to stop the fires from spreading before the potentially strong winds arrived, new evacuation orders were issued.

Tens of thousands of acres and more than 12 000 structures have been destroyed by the fires that started on Tuesday north of downtown Los Angeles.

Firefighters for the first time made progress on Friday afternoon on the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena, which has burned more than 7, 000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles.

The largest fires have no known cause, and early estimates suggest they could be the most expensive in history. According to a preliminary estimate from AccuWeather, the damage and economic losses have ranged from $135 billion to $150 billion.

Some of the satellite images below show how much destruction has been done:

Source: Aljazeera