A blackened swimming pool and a chimney were all that remained when Oren Waters returned home Thursday to assess what remained of his home of 50 years on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Waters returned to where his house once stood after the fierce winds that have been spreading fires across the Los Angeles area since Tuesday calmed.

Julie Robin of Altadena, California, explained how the Eaton Fire raging near her home had put her horses under stress.

Bonnie and Jason Matthews have lived in Altadena since 2017. On Tuesday they heard a a fire had taken hold in Eaton Canyon, about five miles away. By 10pm, the power had gone, and police drove by warning everyone to evacuate.

As the Eaton fire retreated into the foothills, people who had fled their homes came back for a look. For many, the news was as bad as it could be.

During the first full day since high winds in Los Angeles blew the Eaton fire from the foothills into the urban community of Altadena on Wednesday (January 8) morning, evacuated residents returned home.

Some returned to their homes to find nothing left after they were destroyed by the Los Angeles wildfires. NBC News' Gadi Schwartz met with some of them in the Altadena neighborhood.