After spending the weekend preventing explosive growth of fires that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least two dozen people in the Los Angeles area, firefighters got a bit of a break with calmer weather but are looking cautiously at the forecast for more wind gusts.
If that happens, already burned homes and valleys could reignite, sending embers to unburned land miles downwind. New fires can add complexity.
The death toll rose late Sunday with an update from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. At least 16 people are still missing, a number that authorities said is also likely to rise.
But the relative calm on Sunday allowed some people to return to previously evacuated areas.
The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings for severe fire conditions through Wednesday, with sustained winds of 50 mph (80 km/h) and gusts in the mountains of up to 70 mph (113 km/h). The most dangerous day will be Tuesday, fire behavior analyst Dennis Burns warned at a community meeting Sunday night.
“You’re going to have a lot of ebb and flow over the next couple of days,” Burns said. “Tomorrow evening, it will really intensify.”
Burns said the detection of new fires caused by blowing embers can occur up to 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) or more downwind from areas that have already burned.
Despite the recent losses, tension, and uncertainty, the crowd in the Pasadena City College gymnasium was mostly respectful, in contrast to the harsh criticism elsewhere of the Los Angeles and California leaders. Applause was followed by the experts, police, firefighters and community leaders who spoke.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said 70 additional water trucks arrived to help firefighters ward off the flames, which had spread due to renewed winds. “We are ready for the next wind event,” Marrone said.
Officials said a fire retardant dropped by planes would serve as a buffer along the hillsides.
Violent Santa Ana winds were largely blamed for turning last week’s wildfires into infernos that destroyed entire neighborhoods across a city where no significant rain had fallen in more than eight months.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said 12 people were missing within the area of the Eaton Fire, and four were missing in the Palisades Fire. He added that investigators are reaching a conclusion about whether some of the missing are among the dead, but so far there are no children among the missing.
Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 24 over the weekend. Eight deaths were attributed to the Palisades fire and 16 to the Eaton fire, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
An American flag hangs behind a commercial building destroyed by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Sunday, January 12, 2025.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
The number of casualties could rise further as cadaver dogs conduct systematic searches in razed neighborhoods. Authorities have set up a center where people can report missing persons.
Officials are also building an online database to let evacuated residents know if their homes have been damaged or destroyed. Meanwhile, Los Angeles City Fire Chief Christine Crowley urged people to stay away from burned-out neighborhoods.
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“There are still active fires burning within the Palisades area, making it very, very dangerous to the public,” Crowley said at a news conference Sunday morning. “There is no electricity, no water, gas lines are broken, and we have unstable structures.”
Officials warned that the ash could contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful substances.
Luna said that about 150,000 people in Los Angeles County are still under evacuation orders, while more than 700 residents have sought refuge in nine shelters. Officials said most orders in the Palisades area were unlikely to be lifted before the red flag warnings expired Wednesday evening.
“Please be assured that we will start first thing Thursday talking about bringing residents back,” Marrone said.
In all, four fires burned more than 62 square miles (160 square kilometers), an area larger than San Francisco. The Palisades Fire is 11% contained and the Eaton Fire is 27% contained. These two fires alone accounted for 59 square miles (about 153 square kilometers).
Crews from California and nine other states are part of an ongoing response that includes nearly 1,400 fire engines, 84 aircraft and more than 14,000 personnel, including newly arrived firefighters from Mexico.
A car drives past homes and vehicles destroyed by the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates on Sunday, January 12, 2025 in Los Angeles.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
The struggle to save public and private areas
After a fierce battle Saturday, firefighters battled flames in Mandeville Canyon, home of Arnold Schwarzenegger and other celebrities, near Pacific Palisades not far from the coast, where swooping helicopters dumped water as flames burned down the hill.
The fire spread across the tree-covered hillsides and also briefly threatened to jump over the 405 Freeway and into densely populated areas of the Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley.
Looting remained a concern, with authorities reporting more arrests as the destruction increased. Los Angeles Police Captain Michael Lorenz said that among those arrested were two people who pretended to be firefighters and entered homes.
With California National Guard troops deployed to guard property, Governor Gavin Newsom posted on X: “California will not allow looting.”
The fires that started Tuesday north of downtown Los Angeles have burned more than 12,000 buildings. No cause has been determined for the largest fires.
Initial estimates suggest it could be the country’s costliest ever, at up to $150 billion according to AccuWeather estimates.
Prisoner 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 firefighters at the prison were clearing logs and brush ahead of the fires to slow their spread, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The practice is controversial since inmates are paid little for the dangerous and difficult work: $10.24 per day, with an increase in 24-hour shifts, according to the Department of Corrections.
Rebuilding will be a challenge
Newsom issued an executive order Sunday aimed at speeding up the rebuilding process by suspending some environmental regulations and ensuring property tax assessments do not increase.
“We have to let people know we support them,” he said. “We want you to come back, rebuild, and rebuild to higher quality building standards, more modern standards.”
More than 24,000 people have registered for federal aid made possible by President Joe Biden’s major disaster declaration, according to the White House.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Sunday that she had spoken with the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump and expected he would visit the city.
The leadership was accused of wastefulness
Bass faces a critical test of her leadership during the city’s biggest crisis in decades, but allegations of leadership failure, political blame and investigations begin.
Newsom on Friday ordered state officials to determine why a 117 million gallon (440 million liter) tank was out of service and some faucets ran dry.
Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press journalists Julie Walker in New York, Sophia Tarin in Chicago, Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia, and Meade Grover in Cheyenne, Wyoming, contributed.
