The death toll from the California wildfires has climbed to 16, according to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner.
Crews are battling to cut off the spreading blazes before potentially strong winds return that could push the flames toward some of the city’s most famous landmarks.
The medical examiner’s office says five of those deaths were in the Palisades Fire, while 11 people were killed in the Eaton Fire.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has implemented a curfew in mandated evacuated areas affected by the Palisades and Eaton wildfires from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time.
“Law enforcement will strictly enforce this curfew for your protection and to allow emergency personnel to work effectively,” the department said on X. “Your safety is always our priority.”
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The previous number of confirmed fatalities before Saturday was 11, but officials said they expected that figure to rise as teams with cadaver dogs conduct systematic grid searches in leveled neighborhoods. Authorities have established a center where people can report the missing. There were fears that winds could move the fires toward the J. Paul Getty Museum and the University of California, Los Angeles, while new evacuation warnings left more homeowners on edge.
By Saturday evening, Cal Fire reported the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst fires had consumed about 62 square miles, an area larger than San Francisco. The Palisades and Eaton fires accounted for 59 square miles.
Officials estimated at least 37,000 acres have burned.
In a briefing posted online Saturday evening, Michael Traum of the California Office of Emergency Services said 150,000 people in Los Angeles County were under evacuation orders, with more than 700 people taking refuge in nine shelters.
Crews from California and nine other states are part of the ongoing response that includes 1,354 fire engines, 84 aircraft and more than 14,000 personnel, including newly arrived firefighters from Mexico, he said.
With Cal Fire reporting containment of the Palisades Fire at 11% and the Eaton Fire at 15% on Saturday night, the fight is set to continue.
“Weather conditions are still critical and another round of strong winds is expected starting Monday,” Traum said.
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As of Saturday, the unincorporated community of Altadena remained closed to residents due to the Eaton Fire. The department modified evacuation orders to evacuation warnings for the following areas located inside the City of La Canada Flintridge: North of Knight Way, Gould Canyon Trail and East of Oakwood Avenue, Angeles Crest Highway at the curve to Gould Mesa Road and Starlight Crest Drive, as well as the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“An Evacuation Order is mandatory: you shall leave immediately due to imminent danger (e.g., wildfire or flood). Ignoring this puts lives at risk and may interfere with emergency efforts,” the department wrote on X. “An Evacuation Warning is a precaution: be prepared to evacuate if conditions worsen. While not mandatory, it’s strongly advised to get ready to leave for your safety. These decisions are made solely to protect lives.”
Orders were lifted for other areas located inside the City of La Canada Flintridge, including for all residences within the city limits from Angeles Crest Highway east to Oakwood Avenue, North of Angeles Crest Highway at the curve West to Haskel Street, North of Foothill Boulevard to Knight Way and the intersection of Gould Canyon Trail at Crown Avenue, and East to Varo Road, the department said.
The department also announced the re-population of communities impacted by the Eaton Fire effective at 3 p.m. local time on Friday. Orders are lifted and reopened to residents of the City of Bradbury, and Bradbury estates, as well as the City of Duarte. The department said it will “have a strong presence in the repopulated and evacuated areas for the next several days to ensure the protection of our residents and their property.”
“All other road closures and evacuated areas for the EATON FIRE remain in effect,” the department wrote on Facebook.
The National Weather Service warned that strong Santa Ana winds could soon return. Those winds have been largely blamed for turning the wildfires into infernos that leveled entire neighborhoods around to city where there has been no significant rainfall in more than eight months. The fire also threatened to jump over Interstate 405 and into densely populated areas in the Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley.
The fires that began Tuesday just north of downtown LA have burned more than 12,000 structures. Firefighters for the first time made progress Friday afternoon on the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena, which has burned more than 7,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. Most evacuation orders for the area were lifted, officials said.
A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between $135 billion and $150 billion.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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