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.

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.

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.