Street after street, there is little but dark ash and ruin where a wealthy seaside enclave favored by celebrities once stood.

As of Thursday, the Palisades fire had reached 15,000 acres, spreading to Malibu and Topanga and torching homes and restaurants along the Pacific Coast Highway. One resident told the Washington Examiner ’s video producer Natasha Sweatte that his community is coming together in this time of crisis.

A Pacific Palisades resident returned to his mobile home on Jan. 8 to find only rubble and burnt out cars.

Though the Palisades Fire continues to rage, currently estimated to have consumed nearly 20,000 acres, destroyed over 5,000 structures and caused at least two deaths, residents are beginning to return to their fire-stricken neighborhoods.

The blaze tearing through the posh neighborhood nestled above the Pacific Ocean has already consumed over 10 percent of area, and remains out of control.

By Andy Sullivan The Pacific Palisades area ravaged by wildfires in Los Angeles is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the U.S., home to Hollywood A-Listers and multimillion dollar mansions. And ahead of this week's disaster,

Los Angeles Times photographer Robert Gauthier took an aerial tour of the damage to Pacific Palisades after the fires. Robert Gauthier has been with the Los Angeles Times since 1994. He was the photographer for a project detailing the failings of an L.