Palisades Fire leaves residents devastated as homes, neighborhoods burn: "It looks like a war zone"

The Palisades Fire in California has forced thousands to evacuate their homes, leaving many uncertain if their properties survived. Some residents, determined to find out, made their way back despite the thick smoke, only to discover nothing left but ruins.

Gelena Skya, who had built her dream home in the area, returned to find almost every house destroyed, including hers. 

"I'm still processing the gravity of the entire situation," she said, walking through the neighborhood where cars were engulfed in flames and houses leveled. Her 9-year-old daughter, Minnie, left for school the morning the fire began and never got an opportunity to go back home.