Wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area brace for dangerous wind conditions expected to fan flames. While containment increased over the weekend, the death toll surged, and authorities reported more missing persons.
Firefighters are preparing for a return of dangerous winds that could again stoke the wildfires that have ravaged the Los Angeles area. The relative calm Sunday allowed some people to return to previously evacuated areas. But even as containment increased in the worst of the fires, more bad news emerged from the ashes: The death toll surged late 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.
And the forecast was worrying. The National Weather Service issued a rare warning of a “particularly dangerous situation,” beginning overnight Monday into Tuesday. It predicted severe fire conditions through Wednesday, with sustained winds of up to 40 mph (64 kph) and gusts in the mountains reaching 65 mph (105 kph). The most dangerous day will be Tuesday, warned fire behavior analyst Dennis Burns at a community meeting Sunday night.The strong winds have been largely blamed for turning the wildfires sparked last week into infernos that leveled entire neighborhoods around the nation's second-largest city where there has been no significant rainfall in more than eight months. In all, four fires have consumed more than 62 square miles (160 square kilometers), an area larger than San Francisco. The Eaton Fire near Pasadena and the Palisades Fire, in a wealthy enclave along the Pacific Coast, alone accounted for 59 square miles (nearly 153 square kilometers). Each fire had some containment, which increased over the weekend. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said 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.“Tuesday night we didn’t sleep at all because we figured the house was gone,” he said Sunday as he recalled the moment the fires spread to his neighborhood. “The whole time I was thinking, I don’t know what I’m going to find when I get back here and after 40 years, you know, you got a lot of stuff you forget about that would disappear if the house burned down. So we’re thankful that it didn’t.” Sixteen of the 24 deaths were attributed to the Eaton Fire and eight to the Palisades Fire, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. Twelve people were missing within the Eaton Fire zone and four were missing from the Palisades Fire, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. Investigators were trying to figure out if some of the missing might be among the dead. The toll could rise 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, LA city 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.”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 Wednesday evening. 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. After a fierce battle Saturday, firefighters managed to fight back flames in Mandeville Canyon, home to Arnold Schwarzenegger and other celebrities near Pacific Palisades not far from the coast, where swooping helicopters dumped water as the blaze charged downhill. The fire ran through chaparral-covered hillsides and also briefly threatened to jump over Interstate 405 and into densely populated areas in the Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley. Looting continued to be a concern, with authorities reporting more arrests as the devastation grew. Those arrested included two people who posed as firefighters going into houses, Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Michael Lorenz said. Hundreds of inmates from California’s prison system were also helping fight the fires. Nearly 950 prison firefighters were removing timber and brush ahead of the fires to slow their spread, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
WILDFIRES CALIFORNIA LOSANGELES WINDS DEATHS
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