I was somewhat surprised to see this not already mentioned... maybe it was (if this is a dupe, feel free to remove it), but I didn't see it.

This fire happened last Wednesday (2/20/08). It's been reported that up to 60 people lost their homes in apartments above a series of storefront retail outlets (so you also need to factor-in the number of people who are now out of work because their employers simply don't exist anymore. Tragic.)

Last Saturday, I had a chance to visit the site, along with all the other rubber-neckers, and shot some pics of the aftermath during demolition. The area smelled strongly of charred wood. They're not great pics, but anyone interested can find them here:

Smugmug

For context, the rubble in these photos represents the leftovers of buildings that were 2 and 3 storeys tall.

I used to live a few blocks west of here and my office is just a few blocks east. Incredible to see in person, especially considering the history of the buildings.

Take a look at this cool stitched photo of the section before the fire.