California fires updates: Death toll in Los Angeles fires rises to 24

Thousands of firefighters are battling the sprawling wildfires across LA.

ByJon Haworth, Emily Shapiro, Nadine El-Bawab, Meredith Deliso, Ivan Pereira, David Brennan, and Bill Hutchinson
Last Updated: January 12, 2025, 8:26 PM EST

At least 24 people are believed to be dead and more than a dozen others remain unaccounted for as multiple fires, fueled by severe drought conditions and strong Santa Ana winds, continue to rage across Southern California, leaving fire crews scrambling to contain the historic destruction.

Thousands of firefighters are battling several sprawling wildfires across 45 square miles of densely populated Los Angeles County. The largest, the Palisades Fire, in Pacific Palisades, has scorched nearly 24,000 acres, destroyed thousands of structures and is 11% contained. The Eaton Fire, in Altadena, now stands at more than 14,100 acres and is 27% contained. The Hurst Fire near Sylmar has burned 799 acres and is 89% contained.

About 105,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders and another 87,000 are under evacuation warnings.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Jan 13, 11:28 am

Status of Palisades, Eaton fires

The Palisades Fire, which began in the Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7, has destroyed about 5,000 structures. It's covered more than 23,000 acres and is at 14% containment.

The Eaton Fire north of Pasadena also began on Jan. 7 and has destroyed or damaged around 7,000 structures. It's burned over 14,000 acres and is at 33% containment.

Jan 10, 2025, 8:45 AM EST

Los Angeles County Sheriff says parts of the city looks like ‘an atomic bomb dropped'

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said that the devastation caused by the wildfires in Los Angeles has been catastrophic and that he is anxious the death toll may increase.

“Please be patient with us,” Luna said in a press conference on Thursday evening. “This is an active chaotic situation in all the places that we're at … we want to give the more the most specific, accurate information. So we're going to wait until it is safe, and just to paint a picture for you, our firefighters, our deputy sheriffs, our police officers are going into these areas. There are still active fires, there are gas leaks. It is dangerous.”

When asked about the potential of the current death toll rising, Luna said he was “nervous” that it could.

“The last number that we gave was five,” said Luna. “I believe that splits two from Palisades and three from the Altadena incident. But even as I'm telling you that it's leaving my lips, I'm nervous about that number. And the obvious question is, do you think it's going to grow? I am praying it doesn't. But based on the devastation that is clear, looks like a bomb, an atomic bomb dropped in these areas. I don't expect good news, and we're not looking forward to those numbers.”

Jan 10, 2025, 7:20 AM EST

Santa Ana winds rage as death toll rises

There are currently five wildfires still burning around Los Angeles county -- Palisades, Eaton, Lidia, Hurst and a new one called Kenneth.

The Santa Ana winds are gusting over 80 mph overnight in the mountains outside of Los Angeles with the Malibu Coast gusting to 46 mph overnight.

The strongest winds have happened overnight and are expected to begin to relax this afternoon and evening.

The dry weather, however, is not expected to improve as relative humidity will continue to be 7% to 15% for most of southern California.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a “critical” fire risk for parts of southern California and an “elevated” fire risk for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

A red flag Warning will continue Friday through 6 p.m. PST for Los Angeles and a high wind warning for all of southern California from Los Angeles to San Diego is in effect until 2 p.m. this afternoon.

Much calmer winds are predicted for this evening -- only in the single digits for most areas -- but it looks like another strong Santa Ana wind even is forecast next week, especially Tuesday and Wednesday.

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