It has been nearly 16 years since the worst bushfire in Australia's history.
The Black Saturday bushfires were sparked by fallen powerlines on farmland in Kilmore East in central Victoria, and it wasn't long until entire towns were razed and thousands of properties burnt to the ground.
Its aftermath was recalled by victims in a 10-year anniversary report by the University of Melbourne.
"I went to four funerals in that week, and there were two I didn't get to go to because I was at others," one survivor said.
"Just having to have face the black trees and the scarred environment day in day out [caused the biggest problem]," another said.
"I think we were just totally in … constant shock. You really thought you were functional, but you just weren't."
The fire disaster in Los Angeles, California is the state's own worst wildfire to date and has already ignited similar discussions about what lies ahead.
[map]The LA fires, which began last week, have already reduced entire neighbourhoods to ruins and resulted in the evacuation of nearly 200,000 people.
Their scope means as some residents fled the blaze, others have been able to return to their property and begin assessing damage.
Palisades resident Ellen Silverman was given a police escort back to her home at the weekend.
She said she was still attempting to come to grips with what was next.
"It's uncertainty, and it's chaos," she told a local media outlet.
"But we're here and we're safe, I think.
"I'm not sure, but I think."
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath described the aftermath in parts of the city as "unimaginable terror and heartbreak", and said recovery efforts had not yet become a priority for officials.
"We're not there yet," she said.
"We're still not out of it … there's still a lot of work ahead."
A painstaking task
The Los Angeles Medical Examiner is working to identify the bodies of 23 people from the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires.
The official death toll is about 27 people so far.
The coroner has formally confirmed the identity of just four victims of the fires; Charles Mortimer, 84, Zhi Feng Zhao, 84, Jeffrey Takeyama, 69, and Victor Shaw, 66.
Recovery teams are actively working with authorities to search for victims from the fire.
It is a task familiar to Australian authorities, who were also responsible for finding victims from the Black Saturday fires and identifying them for their families.
Monash University forensic specialist Richard Bassed was involved in the Black Saturday efforts.
"What LA is facing now is pretty similar to what we faced in Black Saturday," he said.
"We had 173 deaths and fires spread out through towns and houses.
"Some bodies weren't recovered for probably a month after the fires, and the biggest issue they'll be facing now is is getting an accurate list of deceased, and an accurate list of missing persons."
Dr Bassed said the US system in comparison to Australia was extremely fragmented, with many different counties and authorities responsible for human identification.
"During Black Saturday, our biggest issue really was recovering all of the remains," he said.
"If there's remains that are really badly burned and people who are untrained in body recovery, it's important they don't miss important bits of the bodies, like teeth."
Dr Bassed said the worst thing that could happen to a fire victim, which occurred during Black Saturday, was re-entering their home and finding remains of a loved one.
He said human identification following the LA fires could take some time, because of the level of cooperation and organisation needed between police, government and forensics.
Clean-up to prevent winter disaster
Authorities have warned residents it is still not safe to enter parts of Los Angeles, as a result of unstable infrastructure and spot fires.
President Joe Biden has committed to covering 100 per cent of the initial costs for debris removal — the Australian government made a similar move in the wake of Black Saturday.
Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to expedite debris removal.
It is winter in Los Angeles, and Mr Newsom said the community was still under threat from potential flooding and mudslides.
"Removing the debris generated by these devastating fires, with thousands of destroyed or damaged structures located in disparate parts of Los Angeles County, presents a monumental challenge," he said in the order.
"[It] underscores the urgent need to expeditiously develop a comprehensive plan for debris removal.
"It is critical that the state remains vigilant and prepare now for the potential threat to lives and property that flash flooding, mudslides, and debris flows would pose, even while the firefights remain active."
Insurance volunteers
Analysts estimated losses at $US20 billion ($32 billion).
Annie Barbour knows firsthand the struggle of filing an insurance claim in the aftermath of a tragedy.
She lost her house in California's 2017 wildfires and now volunteers for US not-for-profit United Policyholders, which deploys its staff to fire zones to help people fill out insurance paperwork.
"We hate to see anybody having to go through what we went through," she told US's ABC News.
"We hope that they don't have to start at the beginning, that they can start where we ended up.
"Everybody in the neighbourhood wants to pay it forward in some respect because they know how traumatic this is."
United Policyholders said it would wait for the fires in Southern California to be contained before sending volunteers to the local assistance centre.
Far from over
Mr Newsom said Californians were still reckoning with the disaster as it unfolds and warned it could be some time before authorities could fully understand the extent of the damage.
"We're working in real-time to ensure a fast and organised recovery effort — giving Angelenos the tools they need to rebuild faster and stronger," he said.
"California has been here before: we know what effective wildfire recovery requires, and we're using that experience to move faster than ever to support those impacted by these devastating fires.
"The road ahead is difficult but California is doing all we can to help Los Angeles rebuild and move forward."
