The death toll of the Wildfires in California The number has risen to 16, according to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner.
Crews are doing their utmost to extinguish the spreading flames before possible strong winds return that could push the flames towards some of the city’s most famous landmarks.
The medical examiner’s office says five of those deaths occurred in the Palisades Fire, while 11 people died in the Eaton Fire.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has imposed a curfew mandatory evacuated areas affected by the Palisades and Eaton wildfires from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM 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 number to rise as cadaver dog teams conduct systematic grid searches in leveled neighborhoods. Authorities have set up a center for people to report the missing. There were fears that winds could move the fires to the J. Paul Getty Museum and the University of California, Los Angeles, while new evacuation warnings put more homeowners on edge.
Firefighters watch as water is dropped on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Saturday evening, Cal Fire reported that the fires in the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst had destroyed about 60 square miles, an area larger than San Francisco. The Palisades and Eaton fires covered 59 square miles.
Officials estimate that at least 37,000 hectares 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, while more than 700 people took refuge in nine shelters.
Crews from California and nine other states are part of the ongoing response, which includes 1,354 fire trucks, 84 aircraft and more than 14,000 personnel, including newly arrived firefighters from Mexico, he said.
With Cal Fire reporting that the Palisades Fire has reached 11% and the Eaton Fire 15% by Saturday evening, the fight will continue.
“Weather conditions are still critical and a new round of strong winds is expected from Monday,” Traum said.
Kevin Marshall searches his mother’s fire-ravaged home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Saturday, January 11, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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As of Saturday, the unincorporated community of Altadena remained closed to residents as a result of the Eaton fire. The department has changed evacuation orders to evacuation warnings for the following areas in the city of La Canada Flintridge: north of Knight Way, Gould Canyon Trail and east of Oakwood Avenue, Angeles Crest Highway at the bend to Gould Mesa Road and Starlight Crest Drive, as well as the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“An evacuation order is mandatory: you must leave immediately due to imminent danger (for example wildfire or flooding). Ignoring this puts lives at risk and could disrupt emergency efforts,” the department wrote on X. “An evacuation warning is a precautionary measure. : Be prepared to evacuate if conditions do not require it. It is highly recommended that you prepare to leave for your safety. These decisions are made solely to protect lives.
The orders were rescinded for other areas in 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 turn 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.
In this photo from Maxar Technologies, the Palisades Fire burns south of the Encino Reservoir, top left, in Los Angeles on Saturday, January 11, 2025. (Maxar Technologies via AP)
The department also announced the repopulation of communities affected by the Eaton fire, effective Friday at 3 p.m. local time. The orders are lifted and reopened for residents of the City of Bradbury and Bradbury Estates, as well as the City of Duarte. The ministry said it “will maintain a strong presence in the repopulated and evacuated areas in the coming days to ensure the protection of our residents and their property.”
“All other road closures and evacuated areas due to the EATON FIRE remain in effect,” the department wrote on Facebook.
The National Weather Service warned that strong Santa Ana winds could return soon. These winds are largely blamed for turning the wildfires into infernos that leveled entire neighborhoods as far away as the city, which has seen no significant rainfall for more than eight months. The fire also threatened to jump Interstate 405 and into densely populated areas in the Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley.
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The fires that started just north of downtown LA on Tuesday have burned more than 12,000 buildings. Firefighters made their first 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 have been lifted, officials said.
A preliminary estimate posted by AccuWeather the damage and economic losses between $135 billion and $150 billion to date.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
