January 12 (UPI) — The death toll from wildfires near Los Angeles rose to 24 on Sunday night, as California authorities revealed that more people had been reported missing.
Meanwhile, firefighting crews had fully contained three of the fires and were making progress on the city’s two main blazes, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
At least three large fires remain active, but slightly calmer winds Sunday allowed crews to make some progress on containment efforts, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
The Palisades Fire, which began on Tuesday, was at 23,713 acres and 13% contained. According to a 7 p.m. PST update from Cal Fire, at least 1,105 structures have been destroyed and another 12,250 are under threat. The blaze has claimed two lives so far.
The Eaton Fire north of Pasadena, which began on Tuesday, was 14,117 acres and 27% contained as of Sunday night. Cal Fire said in a 7:30 p.m. update that 1,422 structures had been damaged, 212 destroyed, and more than 39,400 were threatened, and at least 11 people had died as a result of the fire.
The Hurst Fire in Sylmar, northwest of San Fernando, which started on Tuesday, was about 800 acres and nearly 90% contained.
At a news conference on Sunday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna stated that at least 16 people have been reported missing in the areas affected by the Eaton and Palisades fires, with “dozens” more reports possible overnight.
He expects the number of people reported missing to increase. As of 5 p.m. PST on Sunday, the Los Angeles medical examiner had confirmed the deaths of at least 24 people.
The National Weather Service issued another red flag warning for fire danger in Southern California on Sunday, which will remain in effect through Wednesday. This is the third high-level alert in three months.
The National Weather Service predicts winds gusting between 45 and 70 mph Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning, increasing the risk of fire. The Los Angeles Fire Department has issued guidelines on how residents who are already fire-prone can prepare.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office announced on social media Sunday that there would be “zero tolerance for looters.” Authorities are enforcing curfews in evacuation zones and preventing people from entering Altadena.
Luna reported that 29 people had been arrested in fire zones, with 25 around the Eaton fire and four near the Palisades fire. He claimed that one man pretended to be a firefighter in order to break into a house.
“Deputies are enforcing curfew in Altadena and being vigilant to prevent looting,” said Sergeant Miguel Meza of the sheriff’s office on Instagram early Sunday.
Craig Curtis of Altadena lives with his wife and cat in a home less than a half mile from Eaton Canyon that miraculously survived the fire that erupted Tuesday night, destroying nearly everything in its path, including a massive Jewish temple.
“We are the most fortunate of the most fortunate,” he told UPI in a phone interview late Sunday night. “Something happened that reduced the severity of the damage near the canyon compared to further away. I live on a street that has survived. We are extremely lucky.”
Curtis described driving through his neighborhood Thursday morning to check on his house and cat as like driving through an apocalyptic movie set. Nearly everything had been reduced to smoking ash, with only water heaters remaining where houses once stood.
Later in the week, National Guard soldiers replaced sheriff’s deputies guarding the neighborhood, and no one was allowed back in. Curtis and his wife are staying in a small, local hotel, contemplating what comes next and looking for signs of normalcy amidst the chaos, as they are not permitted to check on his house.
“We touched base with normal life today with another lunch and grocery/drug store run,” Curtis wrote in an email to family members, which he shared with UPI. “Pasadena [which borders Pasadena] is still operational, but relatively quiet. I’d say that roughly half of all businesses are open.
There are more places that provide relief services of some kind, and insurance companies have begun to appear with mobile claims offices. A group from State Farm is in the hotel.”
Curtis and his wife had gone out to see a movie Tuesday night, and by the time they returned home, the entire area had caught fire, and deputies were barring anyone from entering the neighborhood.
“We left with the clothes on our backs and two half-charged cell phones,” Curtis said of being turned away from his neighborhood Tuesday night as the flames bore down, stunned and unsure about the fate of the home he has lived in for decades.
On social media, Newsom revealed that the Kenneth, Sunset, and Lidia fires had reached 100%.
In an operational briefing about the Palisades fire on Sunday, Jeremiah Wittwer stated that “yesterday was a day of progress” in battling the blaze.”Last night, the fire laid down a little bit when we got some work done with the helicopters in there,” Wittwer said of the fire’s northeastern flank. “The crews started going in direct, getting in behind those houses, starting to button that up.”
According to Wittwer, calls for service have begun to be received in the Pacific Palisades community, which is located between Malibu and Santa Monica. However, as harsh winds began to blow in the morning, the fire began to flare up again in some areas, he said.
Nonetheless, Pacific Palisades remained under a do not drink order on Sunday due to fire-related contaminants in tap water, while much of the area was still under evacuation orders.
“Last night, firefighters conducted tactical patrols and responded to public calls for assistance. Strong winds overnight contributed to active fire behavior, including interior flare-ups. Today, minimal fire growth is expected, with continued smoldering and creeping,” Cal Fire said in a Sunday morning update on the Eaton fire.
“Burnt structures and heavy fuels will continue to retain heat. In addition to perimeter control, crews will work to reduce hazardous trees along roadways to ensure the safety of firefighters and the general public.
Cal Fire said aerial imagery shows that the fire damaged or destroyed 7,081 structures, and the cause is still being investigated. The Palisades fire destroyed 604 structures and damaged an additional 83.
Poweroutage.us reported that 44,947 homes and businesses in Los Angeles were without power Sunday morning.
The majority of those affected were Southern California Edison customers (26,768) and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers (18,034). Southern California Edison reported online that 62,850 of its customers were without power in the region.
