Many watched their homes burn on television in a state of shock. Since the flames erupted in and around Los Angeles, scores of residents have returned to their still smoldering neighborhoods even as the threat of new fires persisted and the nation's second-largest city remained unsettled.

Some Los Angeles area residents have begun returning to their still smoldering neighborhoods to search for memories even as the threat of new fires persists.

Firefighters are battling to control a series of major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed seven people, burned at least 10,000 structures from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and sent thousands of people frantically fleeing their homes. Ferocious winds that drove the flames and led to chaotic evacuations have calmed somewhat. But […]