Hello, I'm Luke Jones. Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. In BBC OS

Conversations, we bring people together to share their experiences, and this time we hear from

people living through the fires in Los Angeles. It's been described as one of the

costliest natural disasters in American history. Our guests describe fleeing the advancing fires and watching

their houses burn. We also hear how communities are coming together to help those who are displaced,

and firefighters explain to us the extent of the challenge. You can't even have people safely

in that operational zone with 70, 80, 90 mile an hour winds blowing because

it's a fire rainstorm. That's truly what it is. And there's not enough water on the planet

that can shut that down. The Pacific Palisades District of Los Angeles includes some of the

most desirable beachfront real estate in the world, a favourite

of Hollywood celebrities and the likes. Today, the famous Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu is

lined with burnt out ruins. These latest fires in the city broke out on the 7th of January,

fueled by dry conditions and, at times, hurricane strength Santa Ana wins.

They spread rapidly.

As well as the Palisades fire, the Eton Fire near Pasadena and the smaller Hurst Fire,

have destroyed tens of thousands of acres and thousands of homes and businesses.

Other areas of the city, too, have been blanketed in plumes of homes and businesses. Other areas of the city too have been

blanketed in plumes of thick black smoke. As I record this on Friday lunchtime here in London,

in many areas of Los Angeles, the fires are still burning and the death toll continues to rise.

For our first conversation, we're going to hear from some of the people forced to flee their

homes as the fires advanced. During our live daily OS show, which we broadcast from within the BBC

newsroom, we brought together Teddy, whose well-known real inn restaurant in Malibu was destroyed,

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