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Tragedy

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Firefighters watch as water is dropped on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon.

LA fires as it happened: Death toll rises as residents return to scenes of devastation

Firefighters are still battling fierce infernos across Los Angeles as residents return to burnt-out neighbourhoods to be met with scenes of devastation. Follow our live coverage.

  • Josefine Ganko and Bianca Hall

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A helicopter drops water on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville LA’s Canyon.

More evacuations as fire changes direction, posing new threat to Los Angeles

Some Pacific Palisades residents who were able to return to their devastated neighbourhoods found little more than brick chimneys looming over charred waste.

Readers have blamed climate change for the catastrophic fires in California.

‘We don’t know the half of it’: More deaths feared in ever-expanding LA fires

Despite a lull in the winds, authorities said it was still unsafe to thoroughly search many areas already burnt.

  • Michael Koziol and Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Elon Musk is using his X megaphone to spread his own political views and false claims.

Elon Musk blames female firefighters of colour for LA fires

As Los Angeles burns, the man with the ear of the new president is helping spread false claims and racist ideas for political outrage.

  • Pranshu Verma, Will Oremus and Trisha Thadani
Luke Dexter reacts as he sifts through the remains of his father’s fire-ravaged Malibu beachfront property in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire.

‘It was just dust’: Shocked families return to find their charred homes

Now four days since the flames erupted in and around Los Angeles, many residents have returned to their still smouldering neighbourhoods.

  • Manuel Valdes, Julie Watson, John Seewer and Heather Hollingsworth
Plane wreckage from the downed Cessna off the coast of Rottnest Island is retrieved by investigators on Thursday.

Rottnest wreckage retrieved as pilot’s girlfriend pays tribute to ‘seaplane tragic’

Investigators retrieved the Cessna from the water off Thomson Bay on Thursday morning, beginning the process of working out how it crashed, killing three people on board.

  • Rebecca Peppiatt and Jesinta Burton
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Josephine Humphreys spent many years supporting grieving families as a funeral director before her own daughter Kate Humphreys died by suicide in January 2023.

‘She was crying uncontrollably’: What not to do when consoling someone who’s grieving

Josephine lost her daughter to suicide. Ashton’s mother was murdered. Here’s what they wish people would never say to those who are grieving.

  • Cassandra Morgan
An Italian priest is being investigated for manslaughter over the death of a newborn baby left outside the doors of his church.

Priest investigated for manslaughter over death of newborn left on church doorstep

The newborn, believed to be a month old, was found dead on January 2 inside the church’s “thermal cradle”, a device set up for unwanted babies to be left anonymously.

  • Josephine McKenna
The moment a plane crashed at Rottnest Island on Tuesday.

‘Insufficient speed’: Aviation expert weighs in on Rottnest seaplane tragedy

Crowds of summer holidaymakers on Rottnest witnessed the crash on Tuesday afternoon. A leading expert has reviewed the footage and given his opinion on what might have gone wrong.

  • Rebecca Peppiatt
Pilot James Wong.

Pilot who died in Rottnest Island seaplane tragedy identified

James Wong, 34, died when the Cessna 208 he was piloting crashed moments after take-off on Tuesday afternoon.

  • Rebecca Peppiatt

Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/topic/tragedy-63c