After a weekend spent blocking the explosive growth of fires that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people in the Los Angeles area, firefighters got a slight break with calmer weather, but cast a wary eye on a forecast for yet more wind.
Should that happen, already burned homes and valleys could flare anew, sending embers to unburned territory kilometers downwind. New fires could add to the complication.
The death toll surged late on 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.
Photo: Reuters
However, 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 tomorrow, with sustained winds of 80kph and gusts in the mountains reaching 113kph. The most dangerous day would be today, warned fire behavior analyst Dennis Burns at a community meeting on Sunday night.
“It will kind of ebb and flow over the next couple days,” Burns said. “Tomorrow night, it will really ramp up.”
Spotting — new fires caused by blowing embers — could happen as much as 3km or more downwind of areas that have already burned, Burns said.
Despite their recent losses, stress and uncertainty, the crowd in a Pasadena City College gym was mostly respectful, in contrast with harsh criticism elsewhere for Los Angeles and California leaders. Applause followed each of the experts, police, firefighters and community leaders who spoke.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said that 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 would act as a barrier along hillsides, officials said.
Fierce Santa Ana winds 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 in the Eaton Fire zone and four were missing from the Palisades Fire, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
Investigators were reconciling whether some of the missing might be among the dead, but so far no children were among those reported missing, he said.
Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 24 over the weekend. Eight deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire and 16 to the Eaton Fire, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office said.
The toll could rise still more 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, Los Angeles 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 could 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 tomorrow evening.
“Please rest assured that first thing [on] Thursday we will begin talking about repopulation,” Marrone said.
In all, four fires had consumed more than 160km2, an area larger than San Francisco. The Palisades Fire was 11 percent contained and containment on the Eaton Fire reached 27 percent. Those two blazes alone accounted for 153km2.
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.
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