Palisades fire
- Containment: The fire was 65% contained as of Tuesday afternoon. It has burned more than 23,700 acres.
- Damage: Officials have confirmed, so far, 6,380 structures have been destroyed and 857 damaged.
- Lives lost: Officials have confirmed that 11 people are dead from the Palisades fire.
- Evacuations: Some mandatory evacuation zones have been reopened to residents. Details here. Residents must bring a valid photo ID that shows their name, photo and physical address, such as a driver’s license, according to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. But most of Pacific Palisades and parts of communities including Malibu, Brentwood and Topanga remained under evacuation orders Tuesday.
Eaton fire
- Containment: The fire was 89% contained as of Tuesday afternoon. It has burned more than 14,000 acres.
- Damage: Officials have confirmed so far tallied 9,418 structures have been destroyed and 1,071 damaged.
- Lives lost: Officials have confirmed 17 are dead from the Eaton fire.
- Evacuations: Evacuation orders have been lifted for some portions of south Altadena. And “soft closures” were in place in other areas within the mandatory evacuation area including south of East Altadena Drive, north of West Harriet Street and East Mendocino Street, west of North Allen Street and east of Lincoln Avenue. Details here from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.
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Expected rain will snap L.A.’s dry streak, but it won’t snuff out fire season, forecasters say
Amid firestorms and extended red flag warnings, the idea of a weekend rainstorm is a balm for Southern California’s soul. And the rain could help with the firefight, but forecasters say it probably will not end what has been a devastating fire season.
The storm will bring “a very beneficial wetting rain,” but “it will not end the fire season,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Tardy.
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Red flag warning extended to Thursday night for L.A., Ventura counties
Although the worst of the Santa Ana winds appear to have passed, Southern California is not out of the woods yet when it comes to fire risk.
On Tuesday, the National Weather Service extended its red flag warning for Los Angeles and Ventura counties until Thursday evening.
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Sheriff’s Department launches Looter Suppression Team in Eaton fire neighborhoods
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has promised to increase patrols in Altadena to combat looting as residents begin to head back to their homes nearly two weeks after the Eaton fire swept through the region.
The newly formed Looter Suppression Team will provide more surveillance and a quicker response time to Altadena neigborhoods evacuated during the fire but potentially left unsecured by residents, the Sheriff’s Department announced Tuesday.
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Judge orders Southern California Edison to preserve evidence and equipment in Eaton fire
A judge on Tuesday ordered Southern California Edison to preserve data, equipment and evidence related to the deadly Eaton fire, a decision praised by attorneys who sued the giant utility company and suspect the fire was started at the base of an electrical tower.
Issued by L.A. Superior Court Judge Ashfaq G. Chowdhury Tuesday morning, the ruling approved a temporary restraining order requested by attorneys for an Altadena woman whose home was burned in the fire and is now suing the utility company.
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L.A. County supervisor calls for outside investigation into Altadena evacuations
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger Tuesday called for an outside investigation into the evacuation process during the Eaton Fire
It comes as The Times reported that it took many hours for residents in western Altadena to get electronic evacuation orders. At least 17 people died in that area.
As the Eaton fire spread, many areas were notified of evacuation warnings and orders well in advance. In the heart of Altadena, where all 17 reported deaths occurred, evacuation orders came hours after fire did.
“I have deep concerns,” said Barger. “There has to be a thorough examination of life-saving emergency notifications that took place on that horrific evening. From what I have been told, it was a night of pure chaos for both fire and first responders.”
“For me, it is important to gather all the facts so that we have a complete picture as to what happened. Such a report, she added, “will answer questions for Altadena but will also benefit the county as a whole moving. forward.”
Residents told The Times they were stunned how long it took to get the evacuation order, and by then many homes in the area were on fire.
Of the 17 deaths confirmed so far in the fire, all of them occurred in the area west of Lake Avenue, records show. More than 7,000 homes were burned overall in the fire.
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With rain possible for the weekend, Bass works to shore up burn areas
Mayor Karen Bass issued an emergency executive order Tuesday morning to shore up Los Angeles burn areas and protect watersheds ahead of potential rain this weekend.
The forecast, which calls for some rain as soon as late Friday or early Saturday, comes as the Los Angeles area continues to battle a catastrophic firestorm that has devastated a wide swath of coastal L.A. and Altadena in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.
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Sen. Amy Klobuchar says she used her access to nudge Trump on L.A. wildfire recovery
WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, the chief of the inaugural transition, acknowledged the difficulty of overseeing the handoff of power to Donald Trump in the site where his followers rioted in seeking to overturn election results but also said it was important for herself and other Democrats to acknowledge Trump’s 2024 victory.
“We had a job to do,” said Klobuchar, the chairwoman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which worked for two years on planning the transition, in an interview Monday night. “And that’s why President Obama came and President Clinton, they were well aware of what had happened in that request. But that was our job.”