The wildfire death toll is expected to rise as recovery efforts begin in some areas. The National Weather Service issued a warning that the Los Angeles, California, area is “not out of the woods yet,” even though winds were not as strong as expected on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
Wind gusts are forecast to pick up Wednesday, with a dangerous situation warning in effect from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. PST for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Evacuation orders remain in place for 88,000 Los Angeles residents. About 90,000 others remain in evacuation warning zones, meaning they might need to leave at a moment’s notice. A total of 6 million people are under a critical fire threat.
The wildfire death toll rose to 25 on Tuesday. The Eaton and Palisades fires — burning for a full week — are now considered the most destructive and second-most destructive wildfires in Southern California history.
The Palisades fire remains the largest, scorching nearly 24,000 acres of land. It is only 18% contained, a small improvement from Tuesday’s 14% containment.
The Eaton fire spans about 14,000 acres and is now 35% contained. The Auto fire in Ventura County grew slightly from 56 to 60 acres but is now 47% contained, according to CalFire’s latest update.
As of Wednesday morning, Jan. 15, five fires continued to scorch the region, with winds forecast to hit 70 miles an hour later Wednesday and into Thursday, Jan. 16.
