An Irishman living in Los Angeles has described the scale of damage caused by the wildfires as "horrendous".

24 people have died and thousands of homes have been destroyed as a result of wildfires in the Californian city.

On Lunchtime Live, LA resident and Irishman Owen Dara was evacuated from his home in Pasadena in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Mr Dara's said he is "counting his blessings" as he was eventually able to return to his home.

"There's damage because of the wind storms - part of the roof is gone and the gate has blown away," he said.

The air quality is also "toxic" and it has "rained ash", Mr Dara said.

"We’ve all experienced smoke in the air from a forest fire, but in my area 7,000 structures are gone," he said.

"Some of them have asbestos because they’re very old, and [some have] lead paint - so the toxins get into the air and they’re coming down with the ash."

While Mr Dara's home was spared, many homes and businesses in his community have been destroyed.

"There was so much devastation that there was nothing left to burn," he said.

'Terrifying'

Kevin Ryan, an Irishman living in West Hollywood, was put on evacuation standby but was ultimately able to stay in his home.

"This thing has just been terrifying in every sense," Mr Ryan said.

"There has been so many people, family, homes just destroyed.

"To give you a scale of this – nearly 60 square miles have been burnt in Los Angeles – the whole of Manhattan is just under 23 square miles and San Francisco is just under 47 square miles."

Piles of debris at the residential areas in Pacific Palisades, California, the United States, on January 11, 2025. ( The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images )

While the Los Angeles Fire Department may be familiar with fires, the current wildfires are "just on a different scale", Mr Ryan said.

"It’s being described in the news as apocalyptic and that’s exactly what it is out here," he said.

"It looks like bombs went off in cities and neighbourhoods and destroyed everything."

The US National Weather Service has predicted that severe fire conditions will continue until Wednesday.

You can listen back below:

Feature image shows workers restoring infrastructures at the ruins of the massive wildfires in Pacific Palisades, California, the Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images.