Los Angeles wildfire deaths rise to 24 as more fierce winds are forecast

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firefighters are preparing for a return of dangerous winds that could again stoke the wildfires that have destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people in the Los Angeles area. Crews made some progress battling the flames this weekend. The relative calm Sunday (Jan. 12, 2025) allowed some people to return to previously evacuated areas. But even as containment increased in the worst of the fires, more bad news emerged from the ashes: The death toll surged late Sunday with an update from the Los Angeles County medical examiner. At least 16 people were missing. Authorities said that number was also likely to rise. And the forecast was worrying. The National Weather Service issued a rare warning of a “particularly dangerous situation,” beginning overnight Monday into Tuesday.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — After making some progress battling wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people in the Los Angeles area, firefighters prepared for a return of dangerous winds that could again stoke the flames.

The relative calm Sunday (Jan. 12, 2025) allowed some people to return to previously evacuated areas. But even as containment increased in the worst of the fires, more bad news emerged from the ashes: The death toll surged late Sunday with an update from the Los Angeles County medical examiner. At least 16 people were missing, a number authorities said was also likely to rise.

And the forecast was worrying. The National Weather Service issued a rare warning of a “particularly dangerous situation,” beginning overnight Monday into Tuesday.

It predicted severe fire conditions through Wednesday, with sustained winds of up to 40 mph (64 kph) and gusts in the mountains reaching 65 mph (105 kph). The most dangerous day will be Tuesday, warned fire behavior analyst Dennis Burns at a community meeting Sunday night.

Fierce Santa Ana winds have been largely blamed for turning the wildfires sparked last week into infernos that leveled entire neighborhoods around the nation’s second-largest city where there has been no significant rainfall in more than eight months.

In all, four fires have consumed more than 62 square miles (160 square kilometers), an area larger than San Francisco. The Eaton Fire near Pasadena and the Palisades Fire, in a wealthy enclave along the Pacific Coast, alone accounted for 59 square miles (nearly 153 square kilometers). Each fire had some containment, which increased over the weekend.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said 70 additional water trucks arrived to help firefighters fend off flames spread by renewed gusts. “We are prepared for the upcoming wind event,” Marrone said.

Fire retardant dropped by aircraft will act as a barrier along hillsides, officials said.

Residents check on their homes

Some residents have been able to return to their homes to survey the damage.

Jim Orlandini, who lost his hardware store in Altadena, a hard-hit neighborhood next to Pasadena, said his home of 40 years survived.

“Tuesday night we didn’t sleep at all because we figured the house was gone,” he said Sunday as he recalled the moment the fires spread to his neighborhood.

“The whole time I was thinking, I don’t know what I’m going to find when I get back here and after 40 years, you know, you got a lot of stuff you forget about that would disappear if the house burned down. So we’re thankful that it didn’t.”

Sixteen of the 24 deaths were attributed to the Eaton Fire and eight to the Palisades Fire, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

Twelve people were missing within the Eaton Fire zone and four were missing from the Palisades Fire, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. Investigators were trying to figure out if some of the missing might be among the dead.

The toll could rise as cadaver dogs conducted systematic searches in leveled neighborhoods. Authorities established a center where people could report the missing.

Officials were also building an online database to allow evacuated residents to see if their homes were damaged or destroyed. In the meantime, LA city Fire Chief Kristin Crowley urged people to stay away from scorched neighborhoods.

“There are still active fires that are burning within the Palisades area, making it extremely, extremely dangerous for the public,” Crowley said at a Sunday morning briefing. “There’s no power, there’s no water, there’s broken gas lines, and we have unstable structures.”

Officials warned the ash can contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials.

About 150,000 people in Los Angeles County remained under evacuation orders, with more than 700 residents taking refuge in nine shelters, Luna said. Officials said most of the orders in the Palisades area were unlikely to be lifted before the red flag warnings expire Wednesday evening.

“Please rest assured that first thing Thursday we will begin talking about repopulation,” Marrone said.

Firefighters continue to battle flames

Crews from California and nine other states are part of the ongoing response that includes nearly 1,400 fire engines, 84 aircraft and more than 14,000 personnel, including newly arrived firefighters from Mexico.

After a fierce battle Saturday, firefighters managed to fight back flames in Mandeville Canyon, home to Arnold Schwarzenegger and other celebrities near Pacific Palisades not far from the coast, where swooping helicopters dumped water as the blaze charged downhill.

The fire ran through chaparral-covered hillsides and also briefly threatened to jump over Interstate 405 and into densely populated areas in the Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley.

Arrests for looting

Looting continued to be a concern, with authorities reporting more arrests as the devastation grew. Those arrested included two people who posed as firefighters going into houses, Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Michael Lorenz said.

With California National Guard troops on hand to guard properties, Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X: “California will NOT allow for looting.”

Historic cost

The fires that began Tuesday just north of downtown LA had burned more than 12,000 structures. No cause for the largest fires was determined.

Early estimates suggest they could be the nation’s costliest ever, as much as $150 billion according to an AccuWeather estimate.

Inmate firefighters on the front lines

Along with crews from other states and Mexico, hundreds of inmates from California’s prison system were also helping fight the fires. Nearly 950 prison firefighters were removing timber and brush ahead of the fires to slow their spread, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The practice is controversial as the inmates are paid little for dangerous and difficult work: $10.24 each day, with more for 24-hour shifts, according to the corrections department.

Rebuilding will be a challenge

Newsom issued an executive order Sunday aimed at fast-tracking rebuilding by suspending some environmental regulations and ensuring that property tax assessments were not increased.

“We’ve got to let people know that we have their back,” he said. “We want you to come back, rebuild, and rebuild with higher quality building standards, more modern standards.”

More than 24,000 people had registered for federal assistance made available by a major disaster declaration by President Joe Biden, according to the White House.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Sunday that she had spoken with President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration and expected that he would visit the city.

Leadership accused of skimping

Bass faces a critical test of her leadership during the city’s greatest crisis in decades, but allegations of leadership failures, political blame and investigations have begun.

Newsom on Friday ordered state officials to determine why a 117 million-gallon (440 million-liter) reservoir was out of service and some hydrants had run dry.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firefighters scrambled (Jan. 12, 2025) to make further progress against wildfires that have killed 16 people in the Los Angeles area as forecasters again warned of dangerous weather with the return of strong winds this week. At least 16 people are missing, and authorities say that number is expected to rise. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office says five of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire and 11 resulted from the Eaton Fire. The California Office of Emergency Services says 150,000 people in Los Angeles County are under evacuation orders, with more than 700 people taking refuge in nine shelters.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firefighters scrambled Sunday (Jan. 12, 2025) to make further progress against wildfires that have killed 16 people in the Los Angeles area as forecasters again warned of dangerous weather with the return of strong winds this week. At least 16 people were missing, and authorities said that number was expected to rise.

The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings for severe fire conditions through Wednesday, with sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph) and gusts in the mountains reaching 70 mph (113 kph). The most dangerous day will be Tuesday, said weather service meteorologist Rich Thompson.

“You’re going to have really strong gusty Santa Ana winds, a very dry atmosphere and still very dry brush, so we still have some very critical fire weather conditions out there,” Thompson said at a community meeting Saturday night.

Fierce Santa Anas have been largely blamed for turning the wildfires sparked last week into infernos that leveled entire neighborhoods around the city where there has been no significant rainfall in more than eight months.

Twelve people were missing within the Eaton Fire zone and four from the Palisades Fire, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 16 over the weekend. Five of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire and 11 resulted from the Eaton Fire, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said in a statement Saturday evening.

The previous number of confirmed fatalities before Saturday was 11, but officials said they expected that figure to increase as teams with cadaver dogs conduct systematic grid searches in leveled neighborhoods. Authorities have established a center where people can report the missing.

Officials were building an online database to allow evacuated residents to see if their homes were damaged or destroyed. In the meantime, LA city Fire Chief Kristin Crowley urged people to stay away from scorched neighborhoods.

“There are still active fires that are burning within the Palisades area, making it extremely, extremely dangerous for the public,” Crowley said at a Sunday briefing. “There’s no power, there’s no water, there’s broken gas lines, and we have unstable structures. The first responders are working as quickly as possible to ensure that it is safe for you to return into your communities.”

Officials warned the ash can contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials.

About 150,000 people in Los Angeles County remained under evacuation orders, with more than 700 residents taking refuge in nine shelters, Luna said.

By Sunday morning, Cal Fire reported the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst fires had consumed more than 62 square miles (160 square kilometers), an area larger than San Francisco. The Palisades Fire was 11% contained and containment on the Eaton Fire reached 27%. Those two blazes accounted for 59 square miles (nearly 153 square kilometers).

Crews from California and nine other states are part of the ongoing response that includes 1,354 fire engines, 84 aircraft and more than 14,000 personnel, including newly arrived firefighters from Mexico, he said.

Fighting to save public and private areas

Minimal growth was expected Sunday for the Eaton Fire “with continued smoldering and creeping” of flames, an LA County Fire Department incident report said.

After a fierce battle Saturday, firefighters managed to fight back the flames in Mandeville Canyon, home to Arnold Schwarzenegger and other celebrities near Pacific Palisades not far from the Pacific coast, where swooping helicopters dumped water as the blaze charged downhill.

The fire ran through chaparral-covered hillsides and also briefly threatened to jump over Interstate 405 and into densely populated areas in the Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley.

Arrests for looting

Looting continues to be a concern, with authorities reporting more arrests as the devastation grows. Michael Lorenz, a captain with the Los Angeles Police Department, said seven people have been arrested in the last two days.

“We even made arrests of two individuals that were actually posing as firefighters coming and in and out of houses, so we’re paying very, very close attention to everybody,” Lorenz said at Saturday evening’s community meeting.

Asked exactly how many looters have been arrested, Lorenz said he couldn’t give a precise number but that officers were detaining about 10 people a day. California National Guard troops arrived Friday to help guard properties.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X Saturday that “California will NOT allow for looting.”

Historical cost

The fires that began Tuesday just north of downtown LA have burned more than 12,000 structures.

Firefighters for the first time made progress Friday afternoon on the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena, which has burned more than 7,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. Most evacuation orders for the area were lifted, officials said.

No cause has been determined for the largest fires and early estimates indicate the wildfires could be the nation’s costliest ever. A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between $135 billion and $150 billion.

In an interview that aired Sunday on NBC, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the fires could end up being the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.

“I think it will be in terms of just the costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope,” he said.

Inmate firefighters on the front lines

Along with crews from other states and Mexico, hundreds of inmates from California’s prison system were also helping firefighting efforts. Nearly 950 incarcerated firefighters were dispatched “to cut fire lines and remove fuel to slow fire spread,” according to an update from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Though the state has long relied on prison labor to fight fires, the practice is controversial as the inmates are paid little for dangerous and difficult work. Inmates are paid up to roughly $10.24 each day, with additional money for 24-hour shifts, according to the corrections department.

Overflowing kindness

Volunteers overflowed donation centers and some had to be turned away at locations including the Santa Anita Park horse racing track, where people who lost their homes sifted through stacks of donated shirts, blankets and other household goods.

Altadena resident Jose Luis Godinez said three homes occupied by more than a dozen of his family members were destroyed.

“Everything is gone,” he said, speaking in Spanish. “All my family lived in those three houses and now we have nothing.”

Rebuilding will be a challenge

The level of devastation is jarring even in a state that regularly confronts massive wildfires. Traum of the state Office of Emergency Services said those impacted by the fires can apply online for immediate government assistance.

Newsom issued an executive order Sunday aimed at fast-tracking the rebuilding of destroyed property by suspending some environmental regulations and ensuring that property tax assessments are not increased.

“California leads the nation in environmental stewardship. I’m not going to give that up. But one thing I won’t give into is delay,” he said. “Delay is denial for people: lives, traditions, places torn apart, torn asunder.”

“We’ve got to let people know that we have their back,” he said. “Don’t walk away because we want you to come back, rebuild, and rebuild with higher quality building standards, more modern standards. We want to make sure that the associated costs with that are not disproportionate, especially in a middle-class community like this.”

Leadership accused of skimping

LA Mayor Karen Bass faces a critical test of her leadership during the city’s greatest crisis in decades, but allegations of leadership failures, political blame and investigations have begun.

Newsom on Friday ordered state officials to determine why a 117 million-gallon (440 million-liter) reservoir was out of service and some hydrants had run dry.

Crowley, the LA fire chief, said city leadership failed her department by not providing enough money for firefighting. She also criticized the lack of water.

“When a firefighter comes up to a hydrant, we expect there’s going to be water,” Crowley said.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Officials say the two biggest wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area this week have burned at least 10,000 homes, buildings and other structures. Officials have urged more people to heed evacuation orders Thursday after a new blaze ignited. The fast-moving Kenneth Fire started in the late afternoon in the San Fernando Valley near the West Hills neighborhood and has moved into Ventura County. Only hours earlier, officials expressed encouragement after firefighters aided by calmer winds saw the first signs of successfully beating back the fires. At least 10 people have died.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The two biggest wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area have killed at least 10 people and burned more than 10,000 homes and other structures, officials said as they urged more people to heed evacuation orders after a new blaze ignited and quickly grew.

The Kenneth Fire started in the late Thursday afternoon (Jan. 9, 2025) in the San Fernando Valley just 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from a school serving as a shelter for evacuees from another fire. It moved into neighboring Ventura County but a large and aggressive response by firefighters stopped the flames from spreading.

About 400 firefighters remained on scene overnight to guard against the fire flaring up.

Only hours before the Kenneth Fire roared to life officials expressed encouragement after firefighters aided by calmer winds and help from crews from outside the state saw the first signs of successfully beating back the region’s two devastating wildfires.

The Eaton Fire near Pasadena that started Tuesday night has burned more than 5,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. Firefighters were able to establish the first bit of containment Thursday.

To the west in Pacific Palisades, the largest of the fires burning in the LA area has destroyed over 5,300 structures and firefighters had no containment.

All of the major fires that have broken out this week are located in a roughly 25-mile (40-kilometer) band north of downtown Los Angeles, spreading a sense of fear and sadness across the nation’s second-largest city. No cause has been identified for the largest fires.

Several weather monitoring agencies announced Friday that Earth recorded its hottest year ever in 2024. “Hurricane Helene, floods in Spain and the weather whiplash fueling wildfires in California are symptoms of this unfortunate climate gear shift,” University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd said.

The level of devastation is jarring even in a state that has grown used to massive wildfires. A large portion of scenic Pacific Palisades has been obliterated. Dozens of blocks in the seaside neighborhood were flattened to smoldering rubble. In neighboring Malibu, blackened palm strands were all that was left above debris where oceanfront homes once stood.

At least five churches, a synagogue, seven schools, two libraries, boutiques, bars, restaurants, banks and groceries were burned. So too were the Will Rogers’ Western Ranch House and Topanga Ranch Motel, local landmarks dating to the 1920s.

The government has not yet released figures on the cost of the damage or specifics about how many structures burned.

AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on weather and its impact, on Thursday increased its estimate of the damage and economic loss to $135-$150 billion.

Firefighters made significant gains Thursday at slowing the spread of the major fires, but containment remained far out of reach.

Crews also knocked down a blaze in the Hollywood Hills with the help of water drops from aircraft, allowing an evacuation to be lifted Thursday. The fire that sparked late Wednesday near the heart of the entertainment industry came perilously close to igniting the famed Hollywood Bowl outdoor concert venue.

The enormity of the destruction emerges

Earlier in the week, hurricane-force winds blew embers, that ignited hillsides.

Right now, it’s impossible to quantify the extent of the destruction other than “total devastation and loss,” said Barbara Bruderlin, head of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce.

“There are areas where everything is gone, there isn’t even a stick of wood left, it’s just dirt,” Bruderlin said.

Of the 10 deaths so far, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley confirmed two were in the Palisades Fire. County officials said the Eaton Fire had killed five. Cadaver dogs and crews are searching through rubble to see if there are more victims.

Two of the dead were Anthony Mitchell, a 67-year-old amputee, and his son, Justin, who had cerebral palsy. They were waiting for an ambulance to come and did not make it to safety when the flames roared through, Mitchell’s daughter, Hajime White, told The Washington Post.

Shari Shaw told KTLA that she tried to get her 66-year-old brother, Victor Shaw, to evacuate Tuesday night but he wanted to stay and fight the fire. Crews found his body with a garden hose in his hand.

On Thursday, recovery crews pulled a body from rubble of what was a beachfront residence in Malibu. A charred washer and dryer were among the few things that remained identifiable in the home along the Pacific Coast Highway.

There have been evacuations, school closures and arrests

At least 180,000 people were under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 45 square miles (117 square kilometers), which is roughly the size of San Francisco. The Palisades Fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles’ history.

All schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest, will be closed again Friday because of the heavy smoke wafting over the city and ash raining down in parts.

At least 20 arrests have been made for looting. The city of Santa Monica, which is next to Pacific Palisades, declared a curfew because of the lawlessness, officials said.

National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday evening. They’ll be stationed near fire-ravaged areas to protect property.

Actors among those who lost homes

Many celebrities live in areas devastated by fire. Among those who lost their homes were Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton.

Jamie Lee Curtis pledged $1 million to start a “fund of support” for those affected by the fires that touched all economic levels from the city’s wealthy to its working class.

State seeing a longer fire season

California’s wildfire season is beginning earlier and ending later due to rising temperatures and decreased rainfall tied to climate change, according to recent data.

Dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, which has not seen more than 0.1 inches (2.5 millimeters) of rain since early May.

Some losses feel greater than others

Robert Lara sifted through the remains of his home in Altadena on Thursday with tears in his eyes, hoping to find a safe containing a set of earrings that once belonged to his great-great-grandmother.

“All our memories, all our sentimental attachments, things that were gifted from generation to generation to generation are now gone,” he said.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Investigators are considering an array of possible ignition sources for the huge fires that have killed at least 16 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in the Los Angeles area.

In hilly, upscale Pacific Palisades, home to Hollywood stars like Jamie Lee Curtis and Billy Crystal who lost houses in the fire, officials have placed the origin of the wind-whipped blaze behind a home on Piedra Morada Drive, which sits above a densely wooded arroyo.

While lightning is the most common source of fires in the U.S., according to the National Fire Protection Association, investigators were able to rule that out quickly. There were no reports of lightning in the Palisades area or the terrain around the Eaton Fire, which started in east Los Angeles County and has also destroyed hundreds of homes.

The next two most common causes: fires intentionally set, and those sparked by utility lines.

John Lentini, owner of Scientific Fire Analysis in Florida, who has investigated large fires in California including the Oakland Hills Fire in 1991, said the size and scope of the blaze doesn’t change the approach to finding out what caused it.

“This was once a small fire,” Lentini said. “People will focus on where the fire started, determine the origin and look around the origin and determine the cause.”

So far there has been no official indication of arson in either blaze, and utility lines have not yet been identified as a cause either.

Utilities are required to report to the California Public Utilities Commission when they know of “electric incidents potentially associated with a wildfire,” Terrie Prosper, the commission’s communications director, said via email. CPUC staff then investigate to see if there were violations of state law.

The 2017 Thomas Fire, one of the largest fires in state history, was sparked by Southern California Edison power lines that came into contact during high wind, investigators determined. The blaze killed two people and charred more than 440 square miles (1,140 square kilometers).

On Friday, Southern California Edison filed a report with the CPUC related to the Eaton Fire in the hills near Pasadena, an area the utility serves.

Edison said it has not received any suggestions that its equipment was involved in the ignition of that fire, but that it filed the report with state utilities regulators out of “an abundance of caution” after receiving evidence preservation notices from insurance company lawyers.

“Preliminary analysis by SCE of electrical circuit information for the energized transmission lines going through the area for 12 hours prior to the reported start time of the fire shows no interruptions or electrical or operational anomalies until more than one hour after the reported start time of the fire,” the utility reported.

While lightning, arson and utility lines are the most common causes, debris burning and fireworks are also common causes.

But fires are incited by myriad sources, including accidents.

In 2021, a couple’s gender reveal stunt started a large fire that torched close to 36 square miles (about 90 square kilometers) of terrain, destroyed five homes and 15 other buildings and claimed the life of a firefighter, Charlie Morton.

The Eaton and Palisades fires were still burning with little containment on Friday. Winds softened, but there was no rain in the forecast as the flames moved through miles of dry landscape.

“It’s going to go out when it runs out of fuel, or when the weather stops,” Lentini said. “They’re not going to put that thing out until it’s ready to go out.”