Los Angeles wildfires death toll rises to 24

FILE: Firefighters extinguishing a fire in Palisades, January 8. (Photo By CAL FIRE_Official/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

By Xinhua, Philippine News Agency

LOS ANGELES – The death toll from the ravaging wildfires in Los Angeles has risen to 24, local authorities confirmed on Sunday.

Eight of the deaths resulted from the Palisades fire, while 16 were caused by the Eaton fire, according to the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner.

The Palisades Fire, currently the largest active wildfire in the Los Angeles area, has scorched over 23,700 acres (about 96 square km) and destroyed over 5,300 structures since last Tuesday. The blaze has been 11 percent contained.

The Eaton Fire, which has scorched more than 14,100 acres (about 57.1 square km) near Altadena and Pasadena, is currently 27 percent contained.

More than 12,300 structures have been destroyed, and over 100,000 people remained evacuated from multiple disaster zones covering over 40,000 acres (about 161.9 square km) as of Sunday.

As firefighters continue to battle devastating flames, winds are expected to intensify through Wednesday evening, which might further complicate rescue efforts.

These winds, combined with low humidity and extremely dry vegetation, will keep the fire threat in Los Angeles County at a “very high” level, said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.