Death Toll From LA Fires Rises To 14, County Sheriff Says

The death toll from fires raging around Los Angeles has risen to 14, according to the Los Angeles County sheriff.

Sheriff Robert Luna said in a press conference on Sunday morning that the death toll from the LA wildfires has risen to 14, including 11 dead from the Eaton Fire and three from the Palisades Fire.

The death count from the fires remains somewhat ambiguous as law enforcement and emergency workers continue to sift through the remains of thousands of houses and structures. A Sunday report from CNN placed the death toll at 16, crediting the Palisades fire with another two deaths.

Luna said that law enforcement has arrested about 29 people for looting and other crimes.

“I saw a gentleman who looked like a firefighter and I asked if he was okay because he was sitting down. I didn’t realize we had him in handcuffs. We were turning him over to LAPD because he was dressed like a fireman and he was not. He just got caught burglarizing a home,” Luna said at the press conference.

The Eaton and Palisades fires remained largely uncontained on Sunday morning. According to Cal Fire, California’s state fire agency, the Palisades Fire has burned nearly 24,000 total acres and is 11% contained. The Eaton Fire has scorched more than 14,000 acres and is 27% contained. Another smaller fire, the Hurst Fire, has burned less than 1,000 acres and is nearly 90% contained.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone warned on Sunday that fire risk remains “very high” across the county.

“These winds, combined with low relative humidities and low fuel moistures, will keep the fire threat in Los Angeles County very high. I asked our county residents in wildfire-prone areas to understand that the necessary public safety power shut-offs are important for our collective safety in preventing the next wildfire natural disaster,” Marrone said, according to CNN.

More than 100,000 people remain under evacuation orders and California officials continue to urge people to stay away from threatened and already burned areas. Officials have compared burned out neighborhoods to a “war zone” with charred buildings and downed power lines.

“Driving around some of these areas, they literally look like war zones. There are downed power poles, electric wires. There are still some smoldering fires. It is not safe,” Luna said. “We want to get you back into your homes, but we can’t allow that until it is safe for you to do so.”