The number of fatalities from the wildfires in Los Angeles has now risen to 27 as the search for bodies continues. New videos depict the harrowing scenes of rescue missions amidst the raging fires that swept through entire neighborhoods.

Beloved father Jeff Takeyama was the latest victim formally identified by the coroner on Thursday. 

He tragically died defending his home and neighborhood in the Palisades fire, as he had done for ‘every fire before this one.’

A grieving family, in their plea for support on a GoFundMe page, expressed how their lost loved one had devoted himself to ensuring the safety of his family and community. They mourned the tragic loss they have suffered due to the unprecedented nature of this recent fire.

Takeyama’s death brings the death toll in the Palisades fire to 10, while fatalities in the nearby Eaton fire climbed to 17 on Thursday.

Officials said they’ve now inspected about 90 per cent of the damage from the Eaton fire, which wiped out the communities of Pasadena and Altadena.

In total, they’ve found 7,555 charred structures, including 4,356 single family homes,  77 multi-family buildings and 123 commercial buildings. 

Footage released by the City of Pasadena shows courageous transit drivers confronting the blaze head-on as they attempted to rescue elderly residents at a retirement village during the peak of the fire emergency.

‘Our transit team drivers faced unimaginable conditions as they drove into evacuation zones to evacuate hundreds of seniors from living facilities, some buildings were already on fire,’ the city said in a statement alongside the video.

‘You may not think of transit drivers when you think of first responders, but that’s exactly what our Pasadena Transit team was on Tuesday night as the Eaton Fire broke out in Pasadena and Altadena.

‘These unsung heroes wear Pasadena Transit hats, not capes.’

As the search continues for human remains in the leveled neighborhoods, properties also face new dangers with burned slopes at risk of landslides and the charred debris laden with asbestos and other toxins.

Hillsides have become unstable behind some damaged homes, and a small landslide in Pacific Palisades this week split one home which survived the fires in two. 

Mark Pestrella, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, spoke of the risk of landslides on Thursday morning.

He said: ‘A warning to all those residents no matter where you live in LA County: if you have slopes behind your homes or if you’re located on top of a slope, these slopes have become fragile.

‘The soil supporting your home has all become fragile due to the events we’ve had, winds included.

‘There are mud and debris flow hazards that are existing even when it’s not raining so we want people to be very careful.’

More than 80,000 people are still under evacuation orders, and many do not know what, if anything, is left of their houses, apartments and possessions. 

Scores of people gather at checkpoints each day to plead with police and soldiers restricting access to their neighborhoods.

Officials said they understand their frustration, but they asked residents for patience as hazardous materials teams and cadaver dogs comb the sites block by block. 

While some areas have been granted entry, police said said it will be a week or more before many of these people can go back.

Authorities have also warned scorched communities are now rife with asbestos-filled ash and dangerous debris in amongst the carnage. 

The ash can contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials.

Anish Mahajan of the LA County Public Health Department said on Tuesday: ‘Ash is not just dirt.’ 

‘It’s hazardous fine dust that can irritate or harm your respiratory system and other parts of your body where it lands.’

Anyone with access to fire-ravaged communities are urged to wear masks to avoid inhaling the ash. 

As firefighters continued to battle the two largest fires, which have killed 27 people and destroyed more than 12,000 structures, heartbroken families and burned-out business owners began to confront another monumental task: rebuilding what was lost in one of the most devastating natural disasters in Southern California history.