TRANSCRIPT
(Teachers say 'Welcome back!' to students)
At a primary school near Los Angeles, a group of children are returning to the classroom.
They've been adopted by the school after their own had to close in the Palisades fire.
"Our school, like, Palisades Elementary, only half of it burned. So my classroom is still there...and I wish I could spend the rest of the school year there, but I'm happy that we were able to come here."
Meanwhile, disaster recovery centres are also resuming operations, with officials hoping fire survivors will come in to help jumpstart their long road to recovery.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath says people's main concern is how quickly they can return home.
"We are hearing that loud and clear. And we understand that that is a concern, not only for people who are trying to assess damage, but for people who have evacuated to keep people safe. They know they have a home to get back to - and they want to return to some sense of normalcy."
The Eaton and Palisades fires are the two most destructive wildfires ever recorded in Southern California.
As many as 12,300 homes, businesses and other structures may have been destroyed, leaving behind piles of ash and rubble.
The fires have yet to be fully contained with almost half of the Eaton Fire just north of LA under control, and one-fifth of the Palisades fire surrounded.
Better conditions expected in coming days should help fire crews make even more headway - and allow residents to return to their neighbourhoods.
However, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley says people need to remain alert.
"The combination of low humidity and strong winds has further dried out the brush, increasing the risk of fire. The danger has not yet passed."
LA officials, who have already been criticised for hydrants running dry, are still facing allegations of not doing enough.
Ms Crowley insists that isn't true.
"I can tell you and stand before you, we did everything in our capability to surge where we could... Of course, there's always lessons learned, I tell you. I am taking this to the highest of high thought processes of how the LAFD and our entire region could do better in the future."
Those efforts include the use of hundreds of prisoners working to help fight the blazes, despite them getting paid as little as A$9 per day.
Meanwhile, the use of private firefighting companies has also provoked controversy.
It's being seen as a symbol of the gaping disparity between the city's wealthiest residents and those left struggling to rebuild.
While various celebrity mansions have burnt down, so too have the homes of thousands of regular people.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass says it is time to start considering how all those impacted will recover.
"When I think of individuals who have lost their homes, it's not just a matter of losing a house. You've lost memories, family, all of the experiences that took place there, are gone - and gone unexpectedly, gone rapidly. So at the same time as we prepare to make it through the rest of this emergency, we also have to start putting in place what we need to do to rebuild."
Still, firefighters and police are dealing with new challenges.
Since the beginning of the wildfire outbreak, authorities have arrested about half a dozen people accused of setting new, small fires that were quickly put out.
One suspect admitted starting a fire in a tree "because he liked the smell of burning leaves", while another arson suspect said "she enjoyed causing chaos and destruction".
Studies suggest the fires are larger and hotter than they would have been in a world without planet-warming fossil fuel pollution.
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says it shows the world has opened what he called a modern-day Pandora's Box.
"Look no further than the hills of Los Angeles. It has gone from the home of disaster movies to a scene of disaster."
Authorities are yet to determine a cause for any of the major fires.
