16 dead, 16 missing as fire crews try to corral Los Angeles blazes before winds return this week

LOS ANGELES -- Firefighters scrambled Sunday to marque further advancement against wildfires that person killed 16 radical successful the Los Angeles country arsenic forecasters again warned of unsafe upwind with the instrumentality of beardown winds this week. At slightest 16 radical were missing, and authorities said that fig was expected to rise.

The National Weather Service issued reddish emblem warnings for terrible occurrence conditions done Wednesday, with sustained winds of 50 mph (80 kph) and gusts successful the mountains reaching 70 mph (113 kph). The astir unsafe time volition beryllium Tuesday, said upwind work meteorologist Rich Thompson.

"You're going to person truly beardown gusty Santa Ana winds, a precise adust ambiance and inactive precise adust brush, truthful we inactive person immoderate precise captious occurrence upwind conditions retired there," Thompson said astatine a assemblage gathering Saturday night.

Fierce Santa Ana winds person been mostly blamed for turning the wildfires sparked past week into infernos that leveled full neighborhoods astir the metropolis wherever determination has been nary important rainfall successful much than 8 months.

Twelve radical were missing wrong the Eaton Fire portion and 4 from the Palisades Fire, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, the decease toll roseate to 16 implicit 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 bureau said successful a connection Saturday evening.

The erstwhile fig of confirmed fatalities earlier Saturday was 11, but officials said they expected that fig to summation arsenic teams with cadaver dogs behaviour systematic grid searches successful leveled neighborhoods. Authorities person established a halfway wherever radical tin study the missing.

Joseph Everett, adjunct main of the Los Angeles Fire Department's westbound bureau, said it has been hard to spot specified demolition successful an country wherever he, his begetter and gramps each person worked arsenic firefighters.

"It resonates with maine heavily," helium said. "Please beryllium diligent arsenic we are up determination ... we're inactive aggressively warring occurrence retired there."

By Sunday morning, Cal Fire reported the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst fires had consumed much than 62 quadrate miles (160 quadrate kilometers), an country larger than San Francisco. The Palisades Fire was 11% contained and containment connected the Eaton Fire reached 27%. Those 2 blazes accounted for 59 quadrate miles (nearly 153 quadrate kilometers).

In a briefing posted online Saturday evening, Michael Traum of the California Office of Emergency Services said 150,000 radical successful Los Angeles County were nether evacuation orders, with much than 700 radical taking refuge successful 9 shelters.

Crews from California and 9 different states are portion of the ongoing effect that includes 1,354 occurrence engines, 84 craft and much than 14,000 personnel, including recently arrived firefighters from Mexico, helium said.

With Cal Fire reporting containment of the Palisades Fire astatine 11% and the Eaton Fire astatine 15% connected Saturday night, the combat is acceptable to continue.

"Weather conditions are inactive captious and different circular of beardown winds is expected starting Monday," Traum said.

Firefighters ticker arsenic h2o is dropped connected the Palisades Fire successful Mandeville Canyon Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, successful Los Angeles.

AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Fighting to prevention nationalist and backstage areas

After a fierce conflict Saturday, firefighters managed to combat backmost the flames successful Mandeville Canyon, location to Arnold Schwarzenegger and different celebrities adjacent Pacific Palisades not acold from the Pacific coast, wherever swooping helicopters dumped h2o arsenic the blaze charged downhill. Firefighters connected the crushed utilized hoses successful an effort to bushed backmost leaping flames arsenic heavy fume blanketed the chaparral-covered hillside.

The occurrence besides concisely threatened to leap implicit Interstate 405 and into densely populated areas successful the Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley.

Arrests for looting

Looting continues to beryllium a concern, with authorities reporting much arrests arsenic the devastation grows. Michael Lorenz, a skipper with the Los Angeles Police Department, said 7 radical person been arrested successful the past 2 days.

"We adjacent made arrests of 2 individuals that were really posing arsenic firefighters coming and successful and retired of houses, truthful we're paying very, precise adjacent attraction to everybody," Lorenz said astatine Saturday evening's assemblage meeting.

Asked precisely however galore looters person been arrested, Lorenz said helium couldn't springiness a precise fig but that officers were detaining astir 10 radical a day. California National Guard troops arrived Friday to assistance defender properties.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted connected X Saturday that "California volition NOT let for looting."

RELATED | California fires: Ways to assistance those affected by multiple, increasing wildfires

A antheral walks past a fire-ravaged concern aft the Eaton Fire swept done Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 successful Altadena, Calif.

AP Photo/Ethan Swope

Historical cost

The fires that began Tuesday conscionable northbound of downtown LA person burned much than 12,000 structures.

Firefighters for the archetypal clip made advancement Friday day connected the Eaton Fire northbound of Pasadena, which has burned much than 7,000 structures, a word that includes homes, flat buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. Most evacuation orders for the country were lifted, officials said.

No origin has been determined for the largest fires and aboriginal estimates bespeak the wildfires could beryllium the nation's costliest ever. A preliminary estimation by AccuWeather enactment the harm and economical losses truthful acold betwixt $135 cardinal and $150 billion.

In an interrogation that aired Sunday connected NBC, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the fires could extremity up being the worst earthy catastrophe successful U.S. history.

"I deliberation it volition beryllium successful presumption of conscionable the costs associated with it, successful presumption of the standard and scope," helium said.

Overflowing kindness

Volunteers overflowed donation centers and immoderate had to beryllium turned distant astatine locations including the Santa Anita Park equine racing track, wherever radical who mislaid their homes sifted done stacks of donated shirts, blankets and different household goods.

Altadena nonmigratory Jose Luis Godinez said 3 homes occupied by much than a twelve of his household members were destroyed.

"Everything is gone," helium said, speaking successful Spanish. "All my household lived successful those 3 houses and present we person nothing."

Officials pass against returning

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna warned residents against venturing backmost to destroyed homes to sift done rubble for keepsakes.

"We person radical driving up and astir trying to get successful conscionable to look. Stay away," Luna said, urging radical to abide by curfews.

Officials connected Saturday warned the ash tin incorporate lead, arsenic, asbestos and different harmful materials.

"If you're kicking that worldly up, you're breathing it in," said Chris Thomas, a spokesperson for the unified incidental bid astatine the Palisades Fire who warned the worldly was "toxic."

Residents volition beryllium allowed to instrumentality with protective cogwheel aft harm teams measure their properties, Thomas said.

Rebuilding volition beryllium a challenge

The level of devastation is jarring adjacent successful a authorities that regularly confronts monolithic wildfires. Traum of the authorities Office of Emergency Services said those impacted by the fires tin use online for contiguous authorities assistance.

Newsom issued an enforcement bid Sunday aimed astatine fast-tracking the rebuilding of destroyed spot by suspending immoderate biology regulations and ensuring that spot taxation assessments are not increased.

"California leads the federation successful biology stewardship. I'm not going to springiness that up. But 1 happening I won't springiness into is delay," helium said. "Delay is denial for people: lives, traditions, places torn apart, torn asunder."

"We've got to fto radical cognize that we person their back," helium said. "Don't locomotion distant due to the fact that we privation you to travel back, rebuild, and rebuild with higher prime gathering standards, much modern standards. We privation to marque definite that the associated costs with that are not disproportionate, particularly successful a middle-class assemblage similar this."

Leadership accused of skimping

LA Mayor Karen Bass faces a captious trial of her enactment during the city's top situation successful decades, but allegations of enactment failures, governmental blasted and investigations person begun.

Newsom connected Friday ordered authorities officials to find wherefore a 117 million-gallon (440 million-liter) reservoir was retired of work and immoderate hydrants had tally dry.

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said metropolis enactment failed her section by not providing capable wealth for firefighting. She besides criticized the deficiency of water.

"When a firefighter comes up to a hydrant, we expect there's going to beryllium water," Crowley said.

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Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press writers Sophia Tareen successful Chicago and Ben Finley successful Norfolk, Virginia, contributed.