Firefighters battle to contain L.A. fires as Santa Ana winds are forecast to pick back up

LOS ANGELES — Firefighters have been working to contain the flames that have devoured large swaths of the city, killed two dozen people and destroyed thousands of structures over the past week, but they warned Monday that the fierce Santa Ana winds that fed the flames are intensifying and could fuel a destructive sequel.

“We are not in the clear as of yet,” Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said at a news conference. “We cannot let our guard down.”

The National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings from the Ventura County coastline through the sprawling Los Angeles metro area as it has forecast wind gusts of up to 70 mph beginning early Tuesday and persisting into Wednesday.

“Red Flag Warnings are for the extreme of the extreme fire weather scenarios. In other words, this setup is about as bad as it gets,” the NWS said on X.

Asked if they are better prepared than they were when the fires first broke out a week ago, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Moroni said, “We’re absolutely better prepared.”

Last week, Santa Ana wind gusts reached hurricane strength at times before calming somewhat over the weekend, giving local firefighters backed by reinforcements from out of state and even Mexico a chance to beat back the flames feeding off the tinder-dry conditions.

As of Monday morning, the Palisades Fire had burned nearly 24,000 acres and was at 14% containment, and the Eaton Fire had burned over 14,000 acres and was at 33% containment, California Gov. Gavin Newson said on X.

While evacuation orders are still in effect for 92,000 Los Angeles residents, and another 89,000 are in evacuation warning zones, those numbers are significantly lower than last week, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

But Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass urged residents to remain vigilant and to be prepared to leave their homes and neighborhoods at a moment’s notice as the Santa Ana winds kick back up.

“As the winds pick up, please heed the calls to evacuate,” she said.

Firefighters have made progress in the Palisades Fire — while it remains at 14% containment, they have been able to hold back its spread.

“We’ve also made significant progress in Topanga Oaks, Sylvia Park, Temescal Ridge to Mulholland — all of these areas have been under threat and we are continuing to hold,” L.A. County 3rd District Supervisor Lindsay P. Horvath said.

Much of the city is still blanketed by smoky air, and Horvath advised residents to wear N95 masks when venturing outside and to close windows and doors, and use air filters, in their homes.

“Especially children and older adults, especially those with serious health complications, are particularly at risk,” Horvath said.

The worst fires in Los Angeles’ history erupted last week, sparking a massive and sometimes chaotic exodus as residents fled from neighborhoods in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena that were largely reduced to ashes in a matter of hours.

Adding to the chaos, a series of false evacuation alerts that were mistakenly sent to other parts of town set an already nervous city on edge while shelters across Los Angeles were filled to the brim with people displaced by the fire, many of whom fled with only the clothes on their backs and whatever valuables they could carry.

Luna warned homeowners who have started trickling back to see what’s left of their houses to stay away because authorities are still searching for potential fire victims.

In particular, Luna said, the Altadena area is under the third day of grid searching, which he described as “a very grim task.”

“Unfortunately, every day we’re doing this we’re running across the remains of individual community members,” Luna said. “That is not easy work. Very sad to report … I believe we’ll continue to find remains.”

As of Monday, the death toll was at 24 and expected to climb.

Luna said they are actively searching for 23 adults, 17 of whom have gone missing in the Eaton Fire, which ravaged the Angeles National Forest and Altadena area of Los Angeles County and Pasadena. Six others are still missing in Malibu, the sheriff said.

In a statement, President Joe Biden said his “heart aches for the 24 innocent souls we have lost in the wildfires across Los Angeles.”

Detectives were still trying to pin down the cause of the fires and have not ruled out arson.

“Right now we have the task force that is robust, they’re identifying cause and origin for each of these separate fires,” LAPD interim Police Chief Dominic Choi said. “None of them have been ruled out as arson. They are ongoing investigations.”

“The Palisades Fire specifically, there’s been no definitive determination that it’s arson at this point, but we’re looking at every angle,” Choi said.

Marlene Lenthang reported from Los Angeles, and Corky Siemaszko from New York City.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

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