An aerial view of the LA fires: Neighborhoods torched, communities look like war zones

Sitting in the cockpit of a helicopter hovering off the Pacific Ocean in Southern California Friday, I suddenly felt disoriented. I quickly looked over my right shoulder.

"Oh, my God," I thought.

It was Pacific Palisades, its homes and neighborhoods destroyed by the raging wildfires in Los Angeles County. I had seen the photos. I had seen the video. But nothing could simulate what I saw from inside an aircraft 300 yards from the coastline.

I was struck by an eerie juxtaposition as waves lapped up onto shore only a stone’s throw from the rubble where multimillion-dollar homes once stood.

Saturday updates: LA wildfires cause historic destruction; winds predicted to build again

But that was just one stop on a heart-wrenching, 67-minute helicopter ride to survey the damage of the wildfires in Los Angeles County. I was joined by Rob Schumacher, a Gannett photographer who asked for a back door of the helicopter removed so he had a clear shot at the horror below. USA TODAY rented the helicopter to allow a reporter and a photographer a chance to see the damage and try to put it into perspective.

It's tough perspective. More than 10,000 structures have been destroyed, and the devastation from a bird’s eye view is chilling.

The trip started in Burbank where Oleg Byelogurov, a 28-year-old pilot provided us with life jackets and reminded us we would be flying over the Pacific Ocean.

A fire extinguisher was at my feet. An airsickness bag was within reach. Headsets allowed us to communicate over the sound of the blades as the trip commenced.

Our first stop was the iconic Hollywood sign. It shows no indication of any fire damage, despite apparently fake images to the contrary that circulated on social media this week. Then it was on to the Hollywood Hills, where only empty land appears to have burned since the flames it erupted.

Clear skies turned smoky as we headed toward the ocean. Nothing could have prepared us for the site of the Palisades.

Schumacher said it looked like a “blow torch’’ had ravaged the neighborhoods.

An attorney I met Wednesday night, Richard Conn, had told me he and his wife evacuated from their Palisades home Tuesday, called it a warzone. I wondered if that was an exaggeration - until I saw it myself.

Then Oleg piloted us north toward Malibu and I saw something I’d failed to grasp: countless beachside homes destroyed by fire.

I couldn’t help but think about the cruel randomness of it all. Some homes burned down. Others spared any visible damage.

And that eerie juxtaposition, as boats gently motored across the water near demolished homes. Nearby Pacific Coast Highway was all but abandoned with the exception of fire trucks and police cars.

We attempted travel to further north, to Topanga Canyon, to see the most severe active fire in Los Angeles County. But Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) prevented us from getting anywhere close – or from seeing damage from the fires in Atladena up close.

“There’s a good reason for those TFR,’’ the pilot said, referring to the safety precautions.

Safety feels omnipresent.

During the trip, I got at least two Emergency Alerts on my phone about an evacuation warning.

When the blades of the helicopter came to a rest, we all got out. I felt a little dizzy as I headed back through the lobby, where one of the employees informed us a new TRF had just been imposed. No commercial helicopter would be allowed to get within a mile of the coastline for at least the next two weeks.

No one would be afforded the same horrific view of the destruction. It left me wondering what a helicopter trip might look like a year or two from now.

How will they rebuild?

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aerial view of LA fires leaves unforgettable images of torched homes