LOS ANGELES — Officials said Thursday that at least five people were killed and more than 9,000 homes, businesses and other buildings appeared to have been damaged or destroyed in the Palisades and Eaton fires.
Around 5,300 of these structures were destroyed in the Palisades fire, while another 4,000 to 5,000 structures were estimated to be damaged or destroyed in the Eaton fire burning in the Altadena area.
Officials made the estimate using aerial infrared technology and stressed that it was a preliminary number. If accurate, it would place the firestorm among the worst in Los Angeles history in terms of property damage.
“The Palisades fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles,” said Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley.
At a morning news conference, L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said growth of the Eaton fire had been “significantly stopped.” At 3:30 p.m., however, he announced that the fire had grown by more than 3,000 acres — to 13,690 acres — as it spread toward the historic Mount Wilson area with 0% containment.
Don Fregulia, an operations section chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said efforts to protect Mount Wilson had proved successful and he expected that to remain the case.
“We’re actively engaged there,” Fregulia said. “We’re feeling good about what we have to do up there tonight to keep that site secure.”
The Palisades fire grew from around 17,200 acres Thursday morning to 19,978 acres Thursday evening, at which time the blaze was 6% contained, according to fire officials.
And on Thursday afternoon a new blaze, dubbed the Kenneth fire, ignited in Woodland Hills and quickly spread to around 1,000 acres.
At least five people have died in the fires. The majority of deaths have been connected to the Eaton fire, but on Thursday, officials confirmed the first death related to the Palisades fire — a person in Malibu.
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said his officers were notified of a death investigation in the 15300 block of Friends Street in the Palisades area around 10 a.m. Thursday. The person’s cause of death was not immediately known.
“We are deeply saddened to learn that we have lost a member of the Malibu community during the Palisades fire,” Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart said in a statement. “Although the individual has not yet been identified, this tragic news weighs heavily on our hearts. On behalf of the City of Malibu, I want to express my deepest condolences to the loved ones of this person. Our community grieves with you in this moment of unimaginable loss.”
Authorities say the death toll from the fires will likely grow.
Sheriff Robert Luna announced Thursday afternoon that a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew was in the works for areas affected by the Eaton and Palisades fires in an effort to deter looting and would probably start Friday.
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger emphasized that the curfew was not to punish residents but to keep the area safe. She said the curfew was requested by the Altadena Town Council.
Luna also said he had requested support from the California National Guard to assist with traffic control, infrastructure protection and looting deterrence for both the Eaton and Palisades fires. Gov. Gavin Newsom later announced he had approved the request, which will bring the total number of National Guard personnel deployed to help with regional wildfires to 8,000.
The Hurst fire, burning in Sylmar, has charred 771 acres and was 10% contained as of Thursday afternoon. The 43-acre Sunset fire, which ignited Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, reached 100% containment Thursday.
Although winds have diminished, much of Los Angeles County remains under a red flag warning, with forecasters warning of critical fire weather through Friday night.
“This is absolutely an unprecedented, historic firestorm,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said. “But we are all hands on deck.”
Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials are working to get a count of the fatalities in the fires but have been hampered by dangerous conditions in the fire zones. Homicide detectives are investigating deaths at several locations, said Nicole Nishida, communications director for the Sheriff’s Department.
“Information is still very preliminary, but there have been multiple deaths in the fire areas,” Nishida said.
Wind speeds weakened across the Los Angeles region Thursday morning, with isolated gusts reaching 35 mph in the Malibu area and 58 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains, said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
But the reprieve was expected to be brief. Winds were anticipated to strengthen Thursday night.
“We’ll get a little bump up in winds as we get another little push of offshore flow,” Wofford said. “Nothing like we saw (Wednesday) with the gusts of 80- to 100-mph winds, but certainly enough to present some issues for the fires. … It’s kind of like a day on, day off sort of thing. At least until the middle of next week we’re going to be in that pattern.”
Late Wednesday, the National Weather Service downgraded the fire weather outlook for the region from “extremely critical” to “critical.” Wofford said Los Angeles residents should be prepared for a succession of sustained high-wind events that could intensify fire risk. Humidity levels remain low and no rain is in the forecast in the coming days.
Although the red flag warning is set to expire Friday night, the National Weather Service warned that offshore winds would continue into early next weak, peaking on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
“This has the potential to be, at least collectively, the costliest wildfire disaster in American history,” University of California, Los Angeles climate scientist Daniel Swain said Wednesday. “Even just the Palisades fire on its own may become so.”
(Staff writer Jenny Jarvie contributed to this report.)
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