Los Angeles wildfires death toll rises as strong winds forecast to return

The death toll from the wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area rose to 16 as crews battled to cut off the spreading blazes before potentially strong winds return that could push the flames toward some of the city’s most famous landmarks.

Five of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire and 11 resulted from the Eaton Fire, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said.

The previous number of confirmed deaths before Saturday was 11 but officials said they expected that figure to rise as teams with dogs conduct systematic grid searches in levelled neighborhoods.

Authorities have established a centre where people can report the missing.

There were fears that winds could move the fires toward the J Paul Getty Museum and the University of California, Los Angeles, while new evacuation warnings left more homeowners on edge.

By Saturday evening, Cal Fire reported the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst fires had consumed about 62 square miles, an area larger than San Francisco. The Palisades and Eaton fires accounted for 59 square miles.

In a briefing posted online on Saturday evening, Michael Traum of the California Office of Emergency Services said 150,000 people in Los Angeles County were under evacuation orders, with more than 700 people taking refuge in nine shelters.

Crews from California and nine other states are part of the ongoing response that includes 1,354 fire engines, 84 aircraft and more than 14,000 personnel, including newly arrived firefighters from Mexico, he said.

With Cal Fire reporting containment of the Palisades Fire at 11% and the Eaton Fire at 15% on Saturday night, the fight is set to continue.

“Weather conditions are still critical and another round of strong winds is expected starting Monday,” Mr Traum said.

A fierce battle occurred Saturday in Mandeville Canyon, home to Arnold Schwarzenegger and other celebrities not far from the Pacific coast, where swooping helicopters dumped water as the blaze charged downhill.

Firefighters on the ground used hoses in an attempt to beat back leaping flames as thick smoke blanketed the hillside.

CalFire operations chief Christian Litz said on Saturday that a main focus was the Palisades Fire burning in the canyon area, not far from the UCLA campus.

The National Weather Service warned that strong Santa Ana winds could soon return. Those winds have been largely blamed for turning the wildfires into infernos that levelled entire neighborhoods around the city where there has been no significant rainfall in more than eight months.

The fire also threatened to jump over Interstate 405 and into densely populated areas in the Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley.

The fires that began on Tuesday just north of central LA have burned more than 12,000 structures.

Firefighters for the first time made progress on Friday afternoon on the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena, which has burned more than 7,000 structures, a term that includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles. Most evacuation orders for the area were lifted, officials said.

No cause has been determined for the largest fires and early estimates indicate the wildfires could be the nation’s costliest ever. A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between 135 billion and 150 billion dollars.

In an interview that aired on Sunday on NBC, governor Gavin Newsom said the fires could end up being the worst natural disaster in US history.

“I think it will be in terms of just the costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope,” he said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna warned residents against venturing back to destroyed homes to sift through rubble for keepsakes.

“We have people driving up and around trying to get in just to look. Stay away,” Mr Luna said, urging people to abide by curfews.

Officials on Saturday warned the ash can contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials.

“If you’re kicking that stuff up, you’re breathing it in,” said Chris Thomas, a spokesman for the unified incident command at the Palisades Fire who warned the material was “toxic”.

Residents will be allowed to return with protective gear after damage teams evaluate their properties, Mr Thomas said.