LA fires: 24 dead, death toll expected to rise as wildfires rage on

A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

LOS ANGELES – The death toll from the Los Angeles County wildfires has grown to 24 as firefighters continued battling the ongoing Palisades and Eaton fires Sunday and braced for more gusty Santa Ana winds expected this week.

At a briefing Sunday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said additional victims were found Saturday in the rubble of the Eaton Fire in Pasadena, bringing the death toll from that blaze to 16.

“Yesterday we started a search and rescue operation out in the Eaton area, where in the first day of this operation, grid searching, we searched approximately 364 properties in the Altadena area, and unfortunately during that search we did locate three deceased,” Luna said. “As these searches continue, I unfortunately anticipate that those numbers will increase. We will start a similar operation in the northern side of the county here very soon.”

At least eight people have been killed in the Palisades Fire. Luna said the sheriff’s department has received 16 missing persons reports, 12 in the Eaton Fire area and four in the Palisades area.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Sunday that he had signed an executive order to suspend permitting and review requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Coastal Act to allow fire victims to restore their homes and businesses faster.

Among other things, the order directs state agencies to identify additional permitting requirements, including provisions of the Building Code, that can safely be suspended or streamlined to accelerate rebuilding and make it more affordable. It also extends protections against price gouging on building materials, storage services, construction and other essential goods and services to Jan. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles County.

As of Sunday morning, the Palisades Fire had burned 23,707 acres and was still just 11 percent contained, with 4,720 firefighting personnel assigned.

The Eaton Fire was 27 percent contained at 14,117 acres.

The news was better for the Hurst Fire in Sylmar, which was 89 percent contained at 799 acres, with 300 firefighters assigned.

Luna added that the sheriff’s department has increased staffing to 1,200 personnel, with many working 12-hour shifts, supplemented by hundreds of National Guard members.

Approximately 105,000 people remained under evacuation orders in all the fire areas, with about 87,000 under evacuation warnings. Officials said the fire areas remains extremely unsafe, with downed power lines, unstable buildings and pockets of fire.

The county has implemented a curfew that continues to be in effect nightly from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the mandatory evacuation areas in the Eaton and Palisades fire zones. Only firefighters, utility workers and law enforcement personnel are allowed in those areas.

Luna reported approximately 29 arrests so far, 25 in the Eaton Fire area and four in the Palisades Fire area, including one man in Malibu who was arrested for allegedly dressing as a firefighter in an attempt to burglarize a home.

Officials said 16 percent of damage inspections have been completed, and they were working on a process to allow affected residents to go online to view information about their homes.

Authorities were warning residents near the fire areas that air quality continues to be highly unhealthy.

People were urged to suspend the use of leaf blowers, to stay inside with doors and windows closed as much as possible, and to wear masks if they do go outside.

An extended period of critical fire weather conditions was expected to affect the Southland through midweek, and firefighters were dealing with some strong winds Sunday. High wind warnings were in place until 2 p.m. for the San Gabriel Mountains and western Santa Monica Mountains, with gusts of 60 mph or more.

A wind advisory was also in effect Sunday in the Santa Clarita and western valleys of LA County, and the eastern Santa Monica Mountains to the Malibu coast, where wind gusts of 45 to 55 mph were expected.

Winds were expected to weaken into Sunday afternoon, but a stronger offshore wind event will likely develop between Monday night and Wednesday, with gusts up to 60 mph.

“It goes without saying that these winds combined with the very low humidities and tinder dry fuels will lead to Red Flag Fire conditions,” according to the National Weather Service.

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said the LAFD would have “every firefighter on hand and available for the upcoming wind event.”

With high winds and power lines presenting a potential further fire danger, power was shut off for thousands of customers as a precaution. Southern California Edison reported Sunday morning that 62,850 of its customers were without power, and 46,000 of those were from the Public Safety Power Shutoff program.

Officials said restoration may take longer than usual due to unsafe conditions.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said approximately 16,000 of its 1.5 million customers remained without power, most in Pacific Palisades and Brentwood. Other communities still experiencing outages included Eagle Rock, Hollywood Hills, Encino and Sunland.

“Our crews cannot restore power until the areas have been declared safe to resume power restoration work,” the DWP said.

By the time all the damage in assessed, the fires are expected to constitute one of the costliest disasters in US history. Newsom told NBC News on Sunday that he believes the fires will be the worst natural disaster in the history of the country “in terms of just the costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope.”

Emergencies have been declared in the county and the state, and President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for the state. Both Newsom and County Supervisor Kathryn Barger have invited President-elect Donald Trump to visit the area and assess the damage.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Sunday that “there has been no lack of communication between Los Angeles” and the incoming Trump administration. She said she had spoken with members of Trump’s team and would have more to say in the coming days.

Trump criticized Newsom in the early hours of the wildfire crisis for policies that he said hampered the firefighting effort.

“Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform.

“He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish  called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California. Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!”

Newsom blasted Trump’s response on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday.

“Responding to Donald Trump’s insults, we would spend another month,” Newsom told NBC News. “I’m very familiar with them. Every elected official that he disagrees with is very familiar with them.”

Newsom said Trump was “somehow connecting the delta smelt to this fire, which is inexcusable because it’s inaccurate. Also, incomprehensible to anyone that understands water policy in the state.”

The governor said he was concerned that his feud with Trump could delay badly needed federal disaster aid.
“… that’s his style,” Newsom said. “And we take it seriously to the extent that in the past it’s taken a little bit more time [to get federal aid].”

Trump has not publicly responded to the invitation to visit the state, and Newsom told NBC News that he has not received a response.

The president-elect issued another comment on the fires early Sunday.

“The fires are still raging in L.A. The incompetent pols have no idea how to put them out. Thousands of magnificent houses are gone, and many more will soon be lost. There is death all over the place. This is one of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Country. They just can’t put out the fires. What’s wrong with them?” Trump wrote on Truth Social. (With CNS report)