Los Angeles officials on Thursday told most evacuated residents in areas affected by the wildfires to stay away from their homes for at least another week.

Officials asked the evacuees for patience, saying returning home was still too dangerous as emergency responders combed through incinerated neighborhoods.

"The properties have been damaged beyond belief," Los Angeles County Public Works Director Mark Pestrella said at a briefing. "They are full of sediment, debris, silt and hazardous materials."

More than a week after fires started across the Los Angeles area, at least 25 people have died in the blazes. 

How much of the Los Angeles fires have been contained?

Smaller fires in Southern California have been brought completely or mostly under control, but the two major blazes continue to burn.

The Palisades Fire on the western edge of Los Angeles was 22% contained, while the Eaton Fire was 55% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Together the two fires have burned 59 square miles (153 square kilometers) — an area larger than Paris.

More than 80,000 people are still under evacuation orders, with another 90,400 under evacuation warnings. Many evacuees want to return home to assess property damage and recover any personal belongings that survived the fires.

Economic toll of Los Angeles fires

The wildfires have destroyed at least 12,000 structures — many of them homes.

The government has not released damage estimates, but private companies predict that losses could reach tens of billions of dollars.

The ongoing blazes are likely to become the costliest fire disaster in US history.

ess/sms (AP, Reuters)