1,100 structures burned, 2 dead, zero containment for L.A. area fires

Robert Gauthier has been with the Los Angeles Times since 1994. He was the photographer for a project detailing the failings of an L.A. public hospital that won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for public service and was part of the team that was a finalist for the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News Photography. Before The Times, Gauthier worked at the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Escondido Times-Advocate and the Bernardo News in San Diego County, his hometown.

Nathan Solis is a former staff writer who reported on breaking news with the Fast Break team at the Los Angeles Times. He previously reported on court cases in Southern California for Courthouse News Service and, prior to that, covered county government in Shasta County for the Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif. Solis grew up in northeast Los Angeles and his bylines can be found in L.A. Taco, the Eastsider L.A. and KCET’s Artbound.

Melissa Gomez is an enterprise reporter on the State Team who joined the Los Angeles Times in 2018. She reports on a range of news and issues, with a special focus on the Central Valley. She previously covered education and the 2020 presidential campaign at The Times. A native Floridian, she graduated from the University of Florida.

Los Angeles Times staff photographer Allen J. Schaben is an award-winning journalist capturing a wide range of images over the past 35 years. Before joining The Times, he honed his craft at the Detroit Free Press, Dallas Morning News, Wichita Eagle and Connecticut Post. Schaben earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1993.

Mark E. Potts is the senior editor for video at the Los Angeles Times. A native of Enid, Okla., Potts graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a master’s degree in broadcast journalism. He has created and edited video for DreamWorks, YouTube, Microsoft, Sony and BET.

Noah Haggerty is an environment and science reporter at the Los Angeles Times covering wildfire in the American West. A graduate of Northeastern University, he has a background in physics research, focusing on spacecraft propulsion and fusion energy. Haggerty joined The Times in 2024 as an AAAS Mass Media Fellow.