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Death toll from fires rises to 24, says coroner
The number of people confirmed dead in fires that are burning through the US city of Los Angeles rose to 24 on Sunday, authorities said.
The County of Los Angeles medical examiner published a list of fatalities without giving details of any identities. Eight of the dead were found in the Palisades Fire zone, and 16 in the Eaton Fire zone, the document said.
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Closing summary
Hello, it’s almost 9pm in Los Angeles and we are closing our live blog for the evening.
For all our coverage of the wildfires, which California governor Gavin Newsom has said could be the “most devastating natural disaster in US history,” please see here.
For now, here is a quick summary of the most important developments from a disaster that has so far killed 24 people, displaced up to 100,000 and reduced entire neighbourhood to ash.
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Firefighters are focusing on two of the worst fires in the county: the Palisades fire, which is 11% contained, and the Eaton Fire, which is 27% contained, according to Cal Fire, California’s department of forestry and fire prevention.
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Firefighters have had some success over the weekend, with the Hurst fire now 89% contained having destroyed 799 acres, while a fourth fire, Kenneth, burned just over 1,000 acres before it was brought under control early on Sunday.
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However, officials have warned that the Santa Ana winds could return, with Cal Fire, warning of “critical fire weather” through to Wednesday. In a post on BlueSky, CalFire said: “Life-threatening winds and dangerously low humidity are forecast for much of southern California – from Ventura to San Diego – creating a significant risk of rapid fire spread. The winds will cause increased fire activity.”
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The death toll has risen to 24, according to the Los Angeles medical examiner, although officials acknowledge it is certain to rise. At least another 16 people are missing, according to Los Angeles county sheriff Robert Luna, who said search and rescue efforts were ongoing.
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California governor Gavin Newsom said he will suspend a number of environmental laws to allow rebuilding across southern areas of the state destroyed by the wildfires. He said more than 50 teams of inspectors had been assigned to evaluate the damage, and hoped to complete the work in two weeks.
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At least 20 arrests have been made for looting. Among them were two burglars who posed as firefighters when entering houses, according to the police.
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Rob Bonta, the attorney general of California, has warned against scammers attempting to prey on victims amid the wildfires. Speaking at a press conference, Bonta said: “[In] emergencies like this, in addition to bringing out the best in so many, [it] also brings out bad actors who seek to use the trauma, the chaos of moments like this for their own gain.”
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Schools, except some in mandatory evacuation zones, will reopen on Monday, after closing for all 429,000 students in the Los Angeles unified school district on Thursday and Friday, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced. Even still, tens of thousands of people forced from their homes by the enormous fires raking will not be able to return for at least four days, officials said on Sunday.
What started the fires?
Investigators are considering an array of possible ignition sources for the huge fires that have killed at least 24 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in the Los Angeles area. The Associated Press reports:
In hilly, upscale Pacific Palisades, home to Hollywood stars like Jamie Lee Curtis and Billy Crystal who lost houses in the fire, officials have placed the origin of the wind-whipped blaze behind a home on Piedra Morada Drive, which sits above a densely wooded arroyo.
While lightning is the most common source of fires in the US, according to the National Fire Protection Association, investigators were able to rule that out quickly. There were no reports of lightning in the Palisades area or the terrain around the Eaton Fire, which started in east Los Angeles County and has also destroyed hundreds of homes.
The next two most common causes: fires intentionally set, and those sparked by utility lines.
John Lentini, owner of Scientific Fire Analysis in Florida, who has investigated large fires in California including the Oakland Hills Fire in 1991, said the size and scope of the blaze doesn’t change the approach to finding out what caused it.
“This was once a small fire,” Lentini said. “People will focus on where the fire started, determine the origin and look around the origin and determine the cause.”
So far there has been no official indication of arson in either blaze, and utility lines have not yet been identified as a cause either.
Sharlotte Thou
A treasured family ring passed down three generations has been found among the debris of a home burnt by the Palisades fire, firefighters in Orange City have said in a Facebook post.
“While battling the flames, Fire Engineer Garrett received a message about a family who had to evacuate without taking their belongings,” the department wrote. The crew meticulously sifted through the debris, discovered a safe, and successfully retrieved the ring.
“It was truly a miraculous moment for our family. We didn’t lose everything,” the family was quoted as saying.
“It was a glimmer of hope that came at the hands of an incredible group of men that I am eternally grateful for. It was a moment of joy and tears that we will never forget. Thank you.”
California governor says emergency teams ready amid dangerous weather warnings
California governor, Gavin Newsom, has pointed out in a post on X that the National Weather Service has issued “Particularly Dangerous Situation” warnings four times in the last three months.
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The first preceded the Mountain Fire (Ventura) and destroyed 243 structures, he said.
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The second preceded the Franklin Fire (Malibu) with 20 structures destroyed.
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The third preceded the Palisades and Eaton Fires - with thousands of homes gone and blazes ongoing.
“The fourth,” he said, “starts tomorrow.”
“Emergency responders are ready tonight,” he added, “Pre-positioned firefighters and engines are spread around Southern California. Stay safe. Be ready to evacuate if you get the order.”
Cadaver dogs and online databases
As the death toll has risen to 24, officials say they expect that figure to increase.
Eight of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire and 16 resulted from the Eaton Fire, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said in a statement on Sunday evening.
But the expectation is the figure will rise as teams with cadaver dogs are conducting systematic grid searches in levelled neighbourhoods.
Authorities have established a centre where people can report the missing.
Officials were also building an online database to allow evacuated residents to see if their homes were damaged or destroyed.
Schools outside fire evacuation zones to reopen on Monday
As of Sunday, more than 100,000 people in Los Angeles county had been ordered to evacuate - down from a previous high of more than 150,000 - while another 87,000 faced evacuation warnings.
Even so, schools except some in mandatory evacuation zones will reopen on Monday, after closing for all 429,000 students in the Los Angeles Unified School District on Thursday and Friday, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced.
However, not all of the county’s school children will be so lucky, with some schools, such as Marquez school pictured below, gutted by the fires.
LA fires could test Getty Center’s claim of being safest place to store artwork
It houses some of the richest treasures of the art world, such as Vincent van Gogh’s Irises, a popular Rembrandt and a priceless collection of paintings, portraits and other works spanning more than seven centuries.
To protect them, the Getty Center in Los Angeles was built in 1997 as “a marvel of anti-fire engineering”, complete with fire-resistant stone and concrete, protected steel, and set in well-irrigated landscaping.
Now, with an evacuation order in place for the Brentwood area of the city in which the museum is housed, and as flames from the deadly Palisades wildfire rage nearby, the Getty’s claim of being the safest place for art during a fire could soon be put to the test.
Read our full report here:
Photograph: FineArt/Alamy
The signboards that have appeared in the aftermath of the wildfires
Tacked up to tree trunks or pitched on the sidewalk, here is a look at the signs that have popped up since the fires began ripping through southern California.
After the Eaton fire, which is only 27% contained, this sign appeared in nearby Altadena. It reads: “We love you beautiful Altadena.”
As fears have grown about looting, some of those affected by the fires have taken to placing written warnings outside their homes, such as this one one, which reads: “Looters will be shot.”
“No Looters,” reads another.
Others affected by the Eaton fires are asking for donations, including cleaning supplies.
A smoky Hollywood sign.
And finally a makeshift sign that reads: “Make Altadena great again.”
Officials warn that strong Santa Ana winds could return
The National Weather Service warned that strong Santa Ana winds could soon return and issued red flag warnings for severe fire conditions through to Wednesday.
The winds have been largely blamed for turning the wildfires into infernos that leveled entire neighborhoods around the city where there has been no significant rainfall in over eight months.
What are the Santa Ana winds?
Find out more here:
Robert Mackey
The Oregon State Fire Marshal, Mariana Ruiz-Temple, flatly denied on Sunday that any of the 75 engines the state dispatched to Los Angeles to help fight the wildfires this week had been held up in Sacramento for emissions testing.
“There is misinformation spreading on social media and from some news outlets claiming our equipment had to pass emissions tests and our equipment and firefighters were turned away or delayed. TO BE CLEAR: THIS IS FALSE,” the Oregon fire official wrote on X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk.
On a website dedicated to knocking back viral misinformation about the fires, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office wrote that “out-of-state fire trucks take part in 15 minute safety & equipment inspection to ensure no issues with the vehicle.” When the rumor about emissions testing first surfaced in an unsourced post on X on Friday, the governor’s office noted, “the Oregon firefighting teams were already in the Los Angeles area battling the blazes.”
The false report had been amplified by the conservative activist Dinesh D’Souza in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that was viewed more than 1 million times.
When D’Souza’s shared the false report, he commented, of a false report from the Santa Monica Observer, a site known for posting invented stories, “You can’t make this up!”
The Santa Monica Observer was previously in the news for falsely reporting, in 2022, that David DePape, the man who broke into Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home and attacked her husband Paul with a hammer, was a male prostitute hired by Paul Pelosi. That false report went viral after being amplified by Musk.
Later on Sunday, the Observer removed the false report from its website, with an editor’s note explaining that a local official had complained, “we can’t have people like you posting misinformation during an emergency.”
LA officials warn of price gouging as those displaced by fire seek housing
Los Angeles authorities are warning against scams and price gouging as thousands of displaced families seek new accommodations as a result of the wildfires that devastated whole neighborhoods and forced the evacuation of others.
In a press conference on Sunday, Los Angeles county sheriff Robert Luna warned against “anyone taking advantage of anyone who’s been victimized already, whether it is burglary looting, or any other crime, whether it’s a scam of some kind that you’re conjuring up to make money off of the poor people that have been involved in this”.
See the Guardian’s full report here:
Death toll from fires rises to 24, says coroner
The number of people confirmed dead in fires that are burning through the US city of Los Angeles rose to 24 on Sunday, authorities said.
The County of Los Angeles medical examiner published a list of fatalities without giving details of any identities. Eight of the dead were found in the Palisades Fire zone, and 16 in the Eaton Fire zone, the document said.
Water safety in the aftermath of the wildfires
Mark Pestrella, director of the LA County Public Works, issued a warning about water safety on Sunday, where he was speaking at a news conference about the Eaton fire.
LA had suffered “a major impact” to its water system, he said, with agencies collaborating to restore safe water supplies.
“Currently all five water agencies are under a direct no use order, which means that no one in the burned area should be using the water,” he said, “That includes bathing and drinking.”
“The water is contaminated at this point and not being treated to state standards.”
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