(MENAFN- Live Mint) The toll in the Los Angeles wildfires mounted to 24, LA County medical examiner said on Sunday. Eight of the dead were found in the Palisades Fire zone, and 16 in the Eaton Fire zone, a document said.
The official's statement came as fires ripped through the United States' second-largest city for the sixth day.
Massive firefighting efforts have restricted the spread of the Palisades Fire, which was looming toward upscale Brentwood and the densely populated San Fernando Valley.
But conditions are set to dramatically worsen, with "extreme fire behaviour and life-threatening conditions" over the coming days, the news agency AFP reported.
Here's the latest you need to know about LA fires:
1. The wildfire in South California have been fueled by severe drought conditions and strong Santa Ana winds. The National Weather Service had on Sunday issued another red flag warning for fire danger in Southern California.
National Weather Service meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld said winds up to 70 miles (110 kilometers) per hour mean a "particularly dangerous situation (PDS)" will be declared from early Tuesday. Firefighters warned that these gusts could fan flames and whip up embers from existing burn zones into new areas.
2. Cal Fire reported the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst fires had consumed about 160 square kilometres. The largest, the Palisades Fire, in Pacific Palisades, scorched nearly 24,000 acres, destroyed thousands of structures and is 11% contained, ABC news reported. Meanwhile, the Eaton Fire in Altadena now stands at more than 14,100 acres and is 27% contained. The Hurst Fire near Sylmar has burned 799 acres and is 89% contained.
3. Nighttime curfews in evacuated zones have been extended, and additional National Guard resources have been requested. About 1,05,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders and another 87,000 are under evacuation warnings. AFP reported that the total number of residents under evacuation orders dropped to around 1,00,000, from a peak of almost 1,80,000.
4. Video footage showed "fire tornadoes" -- red-hot spirals that occur when a blaze is so intense it creates its own weather system. The ferocious fire also left streaks of molten metal flowing from burnt-out cars.
According to USA today, the video showed the tall, thin inferno surrounded by a cloud of smoke swirling on a hillside inside the Pacific Palisades blaze. Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, told USA TODAY that it instead appears to be an example of a fire whirl, which is“more akin to a dust devil than a tornado” and is less severe.
5. California Governor Gavin Newsom vowed the city would rebuild, saying there would be a "Marshall Plan" -- a reference to the US support that put Europe back on its feet after World War II. "We already have a team looking at reimagining L.A. 2.0," he said.
6. Authorities are sounding the alarm on another potential threat to the public: scams relating to the disaster. Several law enforcement officials reportedly warned of bad actors scheming to take advantage of charitable people looking to chip in and give to those in need due to the fires.
“We have people with big hearts who want to help, they want to donate, they want to support the victims," California Attorney General Rob Bonta was quoted by ABC news as saying. "We also see scammers who are taking advantage of that goodness and that generosity and scamming and defrauding those individuals," he added.
7. President-elect Donald Trump has accused California officials of incompetence. "This is one of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Country. They just can't put out the fires. What's wrong with them?" Trump said on his Truth Social platform. According to AFP, several more arrests of looters were made, including one burglar who had dressed as a firefighter to steal from homes.
In order to avoid these scams, donors can first do some research on charities they're considering giving to before opening their wallets, officials said. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell suggested verifying organizations with websites like Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau.
8. The release of a new Netflix series produced by Meghan Markle, actor and the Duchess of Sussex, will be postponed due to the devastation caused by the Los Angeles wildfires, the streaming platform has announced. Firefighters scrambled on Sunday to make further progress against wildfires that have killed at least 16 people in California as forecasters again warned of dangerous weather with the return of strong winds this week.
9. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered assistance to wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles, saying Ukraine's firefighters can "help Americans save lives" as the city struggles to combat new blazes. Zelensky said Sunday evening that he had instructed Ukraine's minister of internal affairs "to prepare for the possible participation of our rescuers in combating the wildfires in California".
"The situation there is extremely difficult, and Ukrainians can help Americans save lives," he said in a video posted on social media platform X, adding the aid is "currently being coordinated".
10. While a cause for the fires has yet to be determined, early estimates indicate they could be the nation's costliest ever. Preliminary estimates by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses at between USD 135 billion and USD 150 billion.
Lightning is the most common source of fires in the US, according to the National Fire Protection Association, but investigators quickly ruled that out. There were no reports of lightning in the Palisades area or the terrain around the Eaton Fire, which started in east Los Angeles County.
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