Wave Staff and Wire Reports
LOS ANGELES — Calming winds have allowed firefighters to get a better handle on two major wildfires that have burned in the region for the past week, helping them extend containment lines before high winds erupt again.
The National Weather Service had predicted the same kind of strong winds that allowed the Palisades and Eaton to develop Jan. 7 and 8 for Jan. 14 and 15, but as of noon Jan. 15, the high winds had not arrived.
“The anticipated 70 mile per hour winds have yet to materialize, however, this could change and we are still at risk,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during a morning news briefing Jan. 15.
Forecasters warned that strong wind gusts could still present a danger in many areas.
“The good news is that the winds through the Santa Monica Mountains will be focused on the western third of the range far away from the Palisades Fire,” National Weather Service forecasters said in a statement Jan. 15. “The upper reaches of the Eaton Fire may see an increase in winds but this is not a for-sure situation.
“The really good news is that [Jan. 15] will be the last really windy day. Look for a marked decrease in the winds … with the advisory level gusts ending by 3 p.m.,” the statement said.
The unexpected lull in the winds helped firefighters gain ground as they stretched containment lines around the two major blazes. The nearly 24,000-acre Palisades Fire was reported to be 19% contained and containment of the 14,117-acre Eaton Fire was at 45%.
Both blazes were experiencing only sparse active fire activity, with crews focused on dousing hot spots, jumping on spot fires and extending the containment lines. But gusting winds could fan smoldering embers and re-ignite and fan flames.
Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley noted that despite the lack of visible flames, “there are still numerous hotspots burning within the fire footprint.”
The fleet of firefighting aircraft battling the fires got a boost Jan. 14 as a Super Scooper that was damaged by a drone over the Palisades Fire last week returned to service, Marrone said.
As of Jan. 14, 25 deaths have been reported in the two fires — eight in the Palisades Fire and 17 in the Eaton Fire, according to the county Medical Examiner’s Office. That was an increase from 24, with one additional death reported in the Eaton Fire burn area.
Among the dead in the Eaton Fire area was Rodney Kent Nickerson, 82, who died in the house he bought in Altadena in 1968. Nickerson was the grandson of William Nickerson Jr., who founded the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Co., that for a time was the largest Black-owned business west of the Mississippi River. The Watts public housing complex Nickerson Gardens was named after him.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said his deputies were conducting a grid search of the Eaton Fire burn area, a process he said was nearly 80% completed as of the morning of Jan. 15.
The sheriff’s department has 26 active missing-person cases relating to the fires, Luna said, with 20 in the Eaton Fire area and six in the Malibu area.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said his department has eight active missing-person reports.
The recovery effort has halted escorts that law enforcement had been conducting for residents to gather belongings or view damage at their homes in the burn areas.
Marrone said residents can visit recovery.lacounty.gov for damage information on individual properties in the burn areas. The website has maps of the fire areas, with icons placed on properties that have been inspected. It is updated in real time as more properties are surveyed.
Roughly 5,000 structures are believed to have been destroyed or damaged in the Palisades Fire, and at least 7,000 in the Eaton Fire. Those numbers could also rise as more inspections are completed.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Jan. 12 that he had signed an executive order to suspend permitting and review requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Coastal Act to allow fire victims to restore their homes and businesses faster.
Additionally, the order directs state agencies to identify additional permitting requirements, including provisions of the Building Code, that can safely be suspended or streamlined to accelerate rebuilding and make it more affordable. It also extends protections against price gouging on building materials, storage services, construction and other essential goods and services to Jan. 7, 2026 in Los Angeles County.
Authorities were warning residents near the fire areas that air quality continues to be highly unhealthy. People were urged to suspend the use of leaf blowers, to stay inside with doors and windows closed as much as possible, and to wear masks if they do go outside.
With high winds and power lines presenting a potential further fire danger, power was shut off for thousands of customers as a precaution. Southern California Edison reported Jan. 15 that 19,700 of its customers in Los Angeles County were without power.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power announced Jan. 13 that it had restored power to all its customers who lost electricity during last week’s windstorm, with the exception of 17,600 customers in Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Sylmar and Encino, where lines remained deactivated as a public safety measure.
The county has implemented a curfew that continues to be in effect nightly from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the mandatory evacuation areas in the Eaton and Palisades fire zones. Only firefighters, utility workers and law enforcement personnel are allowed in those areas.
Luna reported 44 arrests so far, 36 in the Eaton Fire area and eight in the Palisades Fire area. Those arrests include two men for impersonating a firefighter in an effort to burglarize homes.
McDonnell reported 14 arrests as of Jan. 14, including curfew violations, impersonating a police officer, impersonating a firefighter, DUI, vandalism, ammunition possession, burglary and other offenses.
The deadly wildfires also have destroyed at least 35 historic places, according to the latest count by the Los Angeles Conservancy.
By the time all the damage is assessed, the fires are expected to constitute one of the costliest disasters in U.S. history. Newsom told NBC News that he believes the fires will be the worst natural disaster in the history of the country “in terms of just the costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope.”
On Jan. 13, AccuWeather experts increased their estimate of total damage and economic loss from the fires to between $250 billion and $275 billion. That’s up from its estimate last week of $135 billion to $150 billion.
“Multimillion-dollar homes with priceless contents have already been lost in one of the world’s most expensive neighborhoods have contributed to this increase as well as the high costs to mitigate smoke damage and water damage due to fire suppression efforts,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said in a statement. “There will also certainly be a decrease in real estate values in some of the affected areas as a result of the fires. And perhaps even migration changes as large numbers of people leave California rather than choose to rebuild.”
Two recovery centers — one in West Los Angeles, one ion Pasadena — have been established to provide help to those who lost their homes in the fires and many other organizations are holding relief efforts of their own to aid victims.
Emergencies have been declared in the county and the state, and President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for the state. Both Newsom and County Supervisor Kathryn Barger have invited President-elect Donald Trump to visit the area and assess the damage.