Jan. 12 (UPI) — The death toll from wildfires around Los Angeles has grown as California authorities revealed Sunday that more people have been reported missing. Meanwhile, firefighting crews fully contained three of the fires and made some progress on the two main blazes impacting the city, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at a news conference Sunday that at least 16 people have been reported missing in the areas of the Eaton and Palisades fires and that “dozens” more reports might have come in overnight. He expects the number of people reported missing to grow. So far, at least 16 people have also been confirmed dead.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said on social media Sunday that there would be “zero tolerance for looters.” Authorities are enforcing curfews in evacuation order zones, and preventing entry into affected areas of Altadena.
“Deputies are enforcing curfew in Altadena and being vigilant to prevent looting,” Sergeant Miguel Meza with the sheriff’s office said on Instagram early Sunday morning.
Luna said that some 29 people had been arrested in fire zones, including 25 around the Eaton fire and four near the Palisades fire. He said that one man had impersonated a firefighter to burglarize a home.
Newsom, on social media, revealed that the Kenneth, Sunset and Lidia fires had reached 100% containment while the Hurst fire had been 89% contained, the Eaton fire had reached 27% containment and the Palisades fire was sitting around 11% containment.
Jeremiah Wittwer, in an operational briefing regarding the Palisades fire, said Sunday that “yesterday was a day of progress” in battling the blaze.”Last night, the fire laid down a little bit when we got some work in with the helicopters in there,” Wittwer said about the fire’s northeastern front. “The crews started going in direct, getting in behind those houses, starting to button that up.”
Wittwer said that calls for service have started going down around the community of Pacific Palisades, between Malibu and Santa Monica. But as brutal winds began into the morning, the fire began to pick up again in some areas, he said.
Still, Pacific Palisades remained Sunday under a do not drink order for fire-related contaminants in tap water as much of the area remained under evacuation orders.
“Last night firefighters continued tactical patrols and responded to public calls for service. Strong winds overnight contributed to active fire behavior with interior flare-ups. Today, minimal fire growth is expected with continued smoldering and creeping,” CalFire said in a Sunday morning update regarding the Eaton fire.
“Burned structures and heavy fuels will continue to hold heat. In addition to perimeter control, crews will work to mitigate hazard trees along roadways to provide safety for firefighters and the public.”
CalFire said that aerial imagery shows some 7,081 structures have been damaged or destroyed by that fire, while the cause remains under investigation. Some 604 structures have been destroyed and another 83 damages by the Palisades fire.
Some 44,947 homes and businesses were without power Sunday morning in Los Angeles, according to tracker Poweroutage.us.
The largest number of people affected were 26,768 customers of Southern California Edison and 18,034 customers of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Southern California Edison said online that 62,850 of its customers were without power in the region.
