“At least 24 people have died as Los Angeles is being ravaged by multiple fires that are scorching vast swaths of the city. Firefighters are gaining some ground but struggling as they battle against high winds to contain the massive Palisades and Easton fires, leaving Angelenos on edge as Santa Ana winds are expected to”, — write: www.hollywoodreporter.com
Of the 24 people who have died as a result of the fires over the past five days, eight were attributed to the Palisades Fire, which began on Tuesday and over a matter of hours was sending residents fleeing, and 16 resulted from the Eaton Fire, the coroner’s office said in a statement Sunday night. Meanwhile, reports of missing people are rising across the city, “hour by hour,” according to the county sheriff. According to the Associated Press, 16 people are missing (12 within the Eaton Fire zone and four in the Palisades Fire) and that number is expected to rise.
Firefighting crews had contained 11 percent of the Palisades fire and 27 percent of the Eaton fire as of Sunday morning. The Kenneth Fire, which scorched 1,052 acres near the border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, was fully contained, according to CAL FIRE; so was the Hurst fire, which burned 779 acres in the area around Sylmar.
On Saturday night, the California Office of Emergency Services indicated that 150,000 people in L.A. County were under evacuation orders, with more than 700 people taking refuge in nine shelters.
Multiple landmarks in Los Angeles remain in check as the fires spread, including the famous J. Paul Getty Museum and UCLA’s campus. CAL FIRE Operations Chief Christian Litz said on Saturday that their key focus was on the Palisades Fire burning not far from the state college campus.
“We need to be aggressive out there,” Litz said.
Response to the emergency that has devastated the city includes 1,354 fire engines, 84 aircraft, and more than 14,000 personnel. On Saturday, swooping helicopters were seen dumping water as the fire was moving downhill in Mandeville Canyon, which is home to Arnold Schwarzenegger and other celebrities.
According to the National Weather Service, strong Santa Ana winds are expected to return, again turning the wildfires raging across the country into infernos. Wind strengths overnight may reach up to 70 mph, leading the battle to stop the fires to extend well into the week.
President-elect Trump has been invited to visit the devastation in Los Angeles by none other than California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a gadfly to the soon-to-be second termer since he first entered politics. On Meet the Press on Sunday morning, Newsom said that he invites Trump “in the spirit of an open hand, not a closed fist,” but he criticized the once and future president for spreading disinformation about the fires and the state’s response. L.A. County Board of Supervisors Kathryn Barge said she sent a letter to Trump, inviting him to visit “so he can see the desperate need, but also the incredible opportunity, hope and perseverance of our impacted neighbors.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she spoke with the Trump transition team in what she said was a “fine call”; the mayor said she does believe that Trump will be visiting the city to tour the devastation. Trump has criticized the city and state for its “incompetence.”
Bass is facing criticism for defunding the fire department by 2 percent. In June, she OK’d a budget of nearly $13 billion that included slashing $17 million in the LAFD’s 2025 budget. Bass has said the cuts did not impact the department’s ability to combat the fires.
“Rest assured when that is done, when we are safe, when lives have been saved and homes have been saved, we will absolutely do an evaluation to look at what worked, and what didn’t work, and to correct – or to hold accountable – anybody, department, individual, etcetera,” Bass said. “But my focus right now is on the lives and the homes.”
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Police Department said it has arrested seven looters so far, with two suspects “posing as firefighters coming and in and out of houses,” according to the AP. California National Guard troops have been helping to guard properties since Friday.
On Sunday afternoon, the Los Angeles Unified School District announced that most schools would reopen Monday. All Las Virgenes Unified schools also will reopen. Pasadena Unified school are closed through Jan. 17 as of now. The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District said that all Santa Monica schools, with the exception of Roosevelt Elementary, which is still in the evacuation warning zone, will be open Monday, and Malibu schools will remain closed through Jan. 15.
Updated 6:26 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 12: Updated death toll to 24.