Watch — Surveying the Eaton Fire: Historic Homes Charred, Wasteland of Ash

Breitbart News visited the aftermath of the Eaton Fire in Altadena just to the north of Pasadena on Thursday, surveying whole neighborhoods reduced to ash, many of which served home to historic structures built pre-1950s or just following World War II.

Initial observation showed the starkest difference between the Eaton fire and the Palisades fire in Los Angeles was the sheer randomness of the blaze in certain parts of the city due to the unprecedented windstorm.

“What’s interesting, what you will see about this fire compared to the Palisades is how seemingly random the flames fell,” I observed as I stood before a decimated home. “Right here, this house is completely burned, but if you look next to me, you will see houses that are intact and across the street.

“Also, further, up the hill, the closer you get to the mountains, there are also homes that are still intact because fire strike teams were there to protect the area. What basically happened here is the fire started up in the hills and the massive winds that we had that day carried the embers and hit random homes in the area,” I added in the visual testament.

Further up the hill, especially to the northwest, the damage became far less random and whole neighborhoods for several city blocks were reduced to nothing more than ash. In one particular neighborhood north of Altadena Drive, I recorded an almost boundless wasteland in every direction.

In another section near Altadena Drive and Lake Avenue, I could see Altadena’s historic community church, which has existed for 80 years, burned in the fire while another church just across the street was seemingly spared.

The contrast only served to highlight the indiscriminate nature of the blaze.

Not all areas of historic value were lost, however, including California’s beloved Christmas Tree Lane, which appeared to survive the fire, though certain homes around it were not as lucky.

One particular neighborhood favorite, Bulgarini Gelato (which has been featured on Food Network) also miraculously survived despite being within feet of a neighboring blaze.