A tear ran down Thomas Korn’s face as he surveyed the ashes of his family home.

He had risked returning to the evacuation zone, but it was too late to save a single item.

In a neighbouring street, Faith Williams was devastated to have lost all her photographs.

“Our memories are gone,” she said. “I’ve lived here 38 years and things will never be the same.”

Two weeks ago, Anna Baqueiro’s family were celebrating Christmas together at her parent’s home.

“We sat around the tree right here,” she recalled, pointing to the charred remains of the fireplace.

But both women were grateful that their families had made it out of the inferno in Altadena alive.

At least five people have died in this neighbourhood, among them Victor Shaw, 66.

Police have sealed off Monterosa Drive, where his sister says he refused to vacate his family home.

A family friend, speaking to local news station KTLA, said he was found dead on the charred lawn outside that home with a hosepipe in his hand.

Anna Faris among stars who have lost homes

Actress Anna Faris, known for the Scary Movie series and for starring in the final series of Friends, has lost her home in the fires.

E! News, which is owned by NBC, said it had confirmed the details.

It quoted a representative for the star, who said: “Anna and her family are safe and grateful.”

Faris has not spoken publicly about the loss.

Stella Gregg, the daughter of Dirty Dancing actress Jennifer Grey, also announced on her Instagram Stories that her mother’s house had “burnt to the ground”.

Both her mother and her dog Winnie are safe, Gregg said, before encouraging her followers to “give your loved ones an extra squeeze today”.

Paris Hilton, Billy Crystal, Diane Warren, Ricki Lake, Cary Elwes, and Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag have also confirmed the loss of their homes.

The homes of Eugene Levy, and Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, have also been destroyed, according to US media.