The death toll in the fires scorching the Los Angeles area rose to 24 late Sunday, with 16 people missing, as the National Weather Service forecast more fierce winds starting early Tuesday.
The region is in for a “particularly dangerous situation” in Ventura and Los Angeles counties starting at about 4 a.m. Tuesday and extending into Wednesday around noon, the NWS said in an update early Monday. Predictions are for sustained winds of up to 40 mph with gusts as high as 70 mph in the mountains. Tuesday is slated to be the most dangerous day, fire behavior analyst Dennis Burns said Sunday night at a community meeting.
Out of the 24 deaths, 16 were caused by the Eaton Fire and eight by the Palisades Fire, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said in an update late Sunday. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said 12 people were missing within the Eaton Fire zone and four from the Palisades Fire. Authorities said the number of fatalities is likely to rise.
Firefighters were ready for the next onslaught, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said, noting that 70 additional water trucks had arrived to fight the blazes. Fire retardant has also been dropped over many of the threatened areas.
“We are prepared for the upcoming wind event,” Marrone said.
The fires to date have scorched more than 62 square miles, larger than the area of San Francisco, with 59 square miles of that stemming from the Eaton and Palisades fires. Firefighters got a small break from the winds over the weekend that enabled them to reach 27% containment on the Eaton fire and 13% on the Palisades fire.
A virtual community meeting regarding the Eaton fire was set for 4 p.m. Pacific time on Monday, CalFire said in an update. CalFire also noted that false information about ways to help was circulating on social media and urged anyone wanting to assist in recovery efforts to visit sanctioned sites, providing a link.
“An inaccurate social media post is currently circulating on Facebook,” CalFire said. “The post claims that individuals can come to California to join a clean-up crew in areas affected by recent LA wildfires. This information is false, and we would like to clarify that there is no such opportunity available. We kindly ask that you refrain from calling in to inquire about this.”