< The Latest 2025-01-20T14:39:15+0000
The Pasadena Star-News | Sun 01/19 09:18am PST | Andrea Klick
Firefighters on Sunday continued to surround the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles County, working ahead of yet another Santa Ana windstorm, this one expected to move into the region on Monday with gusts of up to 70 mph in coastal and valley areas; and 60 to 100 mph in the mountains and foothills.Palisades fire
The Palisades fire was 56% contained on Sunday afternoon, up from 49% on Saturday.
Firefighters have continued to benefit from a break in the weather, thanks to low clouds and good humidity levels.
But this week’s expected, powerful Santa Ana winds and low humidity combined with the dry landscape are all expected to pose an extreme wildfire danger again in Southern California, especially Monday into Tuesday.
The Palisades fire has scorched 23,713 acres and killed at least 10 people since erupting Jan. 7. Authorities said they anticipate the number of fatalities to rise as crews continue sifting through the ash and rubble.
Some 5,800 structures were reported to have been destroyed or damaged in the blaze as of Sunday. Fire officials are counting homes, businesses, other buildings and even vehicles as structures.
As of Sunday, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power crews had restored electric service to customers in the Brentwood, Encino and Bel Air areas that were previously without power to protect public safety. The LADWP had approximately 8,000 customers remaining without power in the Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica Canyon areas, where workers cannot safely access homes or in areas where it is unsafe to re-energize power lines.
Meanwhile, more evacuation orders were lifted Saturday, as officials cited “an increased need for specialized supplies related to all-hazards response for responders and re-populating civilians, including masks, respirators, gloves, eye protection and decontamination,” according to Cal Fire.
Some residents previously in evacuation order zones will have access to their homes between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily with an escort. Residents can meet their escorts at 1150 Pacific Coast Highway in Parking Lot 3 North in Santa Monica and must present proof of residency, like a photo ID that includes the resident’s name, photo and address.
Two people were arrested Saturday, Jan. 18, on suspicion of impersonating firefighters and entering an evacuation zone in the Palisades fire area.
Los Angeles police patrolling the area with fire officials saw a fire truck that seemed fake and told sheriff’s deputies, who approached the truck as it tried to enter an evacuation zone, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The two people in the truck were wearing personal protective equipment used by firefighters and claimed to work for the Roaring Rivers Fire Department in Oregon, which deputies determined wasn’t a real agency.
Deputies learned the suspects bought the truck at an auction. It was impounded after their arrest.
Underneath their PPE, helmet and radio, the pair were wearing Cal Fire T-shirts.
Containment of the destructive Eaton fire grew to 81% Sunday up overnight from 73%, as firefighters, aided by water-dropping helicopters, continued extinguishing hot spots in steep, inaccessible canyons near Winters Creek, Mt. Lowe and Mt. Wilson.
Thousands of structures sit in ruins in Altadena, CA, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. The Eaton Fire, fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, ripped through beginning on the evening of Jan. 7. Fires across Los Angeles County have left at east 27 dead and over 180,000 people under evacuation orders. Over 12,000 structures, many of them homes and businesses, burned in the Palisades and Eaton Fires. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Thousands of structures sit in ruins in Altadena, CA, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. The Eaton Fire, fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, ripped through beginning on the evening of Jan. 7. Fires across Los Angeles County have left at east 27 dead and over 180,000 people under evacuation orders. Over 12,000 structures, many of them homes and businesses, burned in the Palisades and Eaton Fires. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Thousands of structures sit in ruins in Altadena, CA, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. The Eaton Fire, fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, ripped through beginning on the evening of Jan. 7. Fires across Los Angeles County have left at east 27 dead and over 180,000 people under evacuation orders. Over 12,000 structures, many of them homes and businesses, burned in the Palisades and Eaton Fires. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Thousands of structures sit in ruins in Altadena, CA, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. The Eaton Fire, fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, ripped through beginning on the evening of Jan. 7. Fires across Los Angeles County have left at east 27 dead and over 180,000 people under evacuation orders. Over 12,000 structures, many of them homes and businesses, burned in the Palisades and Eaton Fires. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Thousands of structures sit in ruins in Altadena, CA, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. The Eaton Fire, fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, ripped through beginning on the evening of Jan. 7. Fires across Los Angeles County have left at east 27 dead and over 180,000 people under evacuation orders. Over 12,000 structures, many of them homes and businesses, burned in the Palisades and Eaton Fires. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Thousands of structures sit in ruins in Altadena, CA, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. The Eaton Fire, fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, ripped through beginning on the evening of Jan. 7. Fires across Los Angeles County have left at east 27 dead and over 180,000 people under evacuation orders. Over 12,000 structures, many of them homes and businesses, burned in the Palisades and Eaton Fires. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Thousands of structures sit in ruins in Altadena, CA, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. The Eaton Fire, fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, ripped through beginning on the evening of Jan. 7. Fires across Los Angeles County have left at east 27 dead and over 180,000 people under evacuation orders. Over 12,000 structures, many of them homes and businesses, burned in the Palisades and Eaton Fires. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Thousands of structures sit in ruins in Altadena, CA, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. The Eaton Fire, fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, ripped through beginning on the evening of Jan. 7. Fires across Los Angeles County have left at east 27 dead and over 180,000 people under evacuation orders. Over 12,000 structures, many of them homes and businesses, burned in the Palisades and Eaton Fires. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Thousands of structures sit in ruins in Altadena, CA, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. The Eaton Fire, fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, ripped through beginning on the evening of Jan. 7. Fires across Los Angeles County have left at east 27 dead and over 180,000 people under evacuation orders. Over 12,000 structures, many of them homes and businesses, burned in the Palisades and Eaton Fires. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Homes along Pacific Coast Highway sit in ruins after being burned by the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. The Palisades Fire, burning in the Santa Monica Mountains, has burned an estimated 5,300 structures. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Thousands of homes are destroyed by the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, CA, on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. The Palisades Fire, burning in the Santa Monica Mountains, has burned an estimated 5,300 structures. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Homes in the hills above Pacific Coast Highway sit in ruins after being burned by the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025.. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Homes in the hills above Pacific Coast Highway sit in ruins after being burned by the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. The Palisades Fire, burning in the Santa Monica Mountains, has burned an estimated 5,300 structures. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Homes in the hills above Pacific Coast Highway sit in ruins after being burned by the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. The Palisades Fire, burning in the Santa Monica Mountains, has burned an estimated 5,300 structures. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Homes in the hills above Pacific Coast Highway sit in ruins after being burned by the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. The Palisades Fire, burning in the Santa Monica Mountains, has burned an estimated 5,300 structures. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Homes in the hills above Pacific Coast Highway sit in ruins after being burned by the Palisades Fire in Malibu, CA, on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. The Palisades Fire, burning in the Santa Monica Mountains, has burned an estimated 5,300 structures. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Thousands of structures sit in ruins in Altadena, CA, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. The Eaton Fire, fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, ripped through beginning on the evening of Jan. 7. Fires across Los Angeles County have left at east 27 dead and over 180,000 people under evacuation orders. Over 12,000 structures, many of them homes and businesses, burned in the Palisades and Eaton Fires. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Thousands of structures sit in ruins in Altadena, CA, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. The Eaton Fire, fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, ripped through beginning on the evening of Jan. 7. Fires across Los Angeles County have left at east 27 dead and over 180,000 people under evacuation orders. Over 12,000 structures, many of them homes and businesses, burned in the Palisades and Eaton Fires. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Thousands of structures sit in ruins in Altadena, CA, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. The Eaton Fire, fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, ripped through beginning on the evening of Jan. 7. Fires across Los Angeles County have left at east 27 dead and over 180,000 people under evacuation orders. Over 12,000 structures, many of them homes and businesses, burned in the Palisades and Eaton Fires. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
“Air Operations will continue to assist firefighters in extinguishing hot spots that are inaccessible by ground. Containment continues to grow, with a total of 60 miles of control lines established around the fire’s perimeter, including 8 miles of hand lines,” Cal Fire officials said Saturday.
Officials have completed inspections of 95% of the structures in the fire area, and so far more than 9,300 have been confirmed destroyed.
The fire has burned 14,117 acres in Altadena and Pasadena since Jan. 7, leaving at least 17 people dead.
What ignited the Palisades and Eaton fires remains under investigation.
And while some residents have been allowed to return home, at least temporarily, thousands of people remain under evacuation orders, as officials continue to mitigate dangers and search for the missing or dead.
By the time all the damage is assessed, the fires are expected to constitute the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
Residents affected by both fires can confirm their evacuation status at protect.genasys.com/search or fire.ca.gov/incidents/2025/. The Genasys information also is available on an app and offers real-time notifications.
City News Service contributed to this report.
Air quality monitoring not equipped to measure full dangers from Eaton, Palisades fires, experts say