Law enforcement and prosecutors are geared up for scammers who are expected to exploit relief for victims of the Palisades and Eaton fires.
Palisades Fire initially started 10:30 a.m. Jan. 7 in Los Angeles County. It has burned 23,448 acres after being active for 20 days. A crew of 800 firefighters has been working on site and they managed to contain 95% of the fire by Monday evening. The blaze's cause remains under investigation.
After a weekend of reprieve allowing fire teams to continue making progress battling the deadly infernos burning in Los Angeles County, Southern California now faces another round of fire-fueling Santa Ana Winds Monday.
The Hughes Fire near Castaic, north of Los Angeles, was 24% contained on Thursday afternoon, according to Cal Fire.
Firefighters fought to maintain the upper hand on a huge and rapidly moving wildfire that swept through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles and resulted in more than 50,000 people being put under evacuation orders or warnings.
Wildfires are endemic to California and natives used fire to shape the land. Orange County and California must learn from the wildfires and decades of government failure in Los Angeles County, and prevent the next disaster.
Palisades Fire initially started 10:30 a.m. Jan. 7 in Los Angeles County. It has burned 23,713 acres after being active for eight days. A crew of 5,104 firefighters has been working on site and they managed to contain 19% of the fire by Wednesday afternoon. The blaze's cause remains under investigation.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in an update Thursday that 18 people remain missing after the Southern California wildfires. Overall, authorities received a total of 43 missing persons reports related to the Eaton and Palisades fires. Of those, 12 were located safe.
Evacuated residents are waiting in their cars for hours to get permission to return to Los Angeles neighborhoods devastated by the Palisades Fire, which has been burning for three weeks and destroyed thousands of homes and other structures.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed new price-gouging charges against a real estate agent accused of trying to rent a Glendale home for more than 50% above the property’s listed rent after fires destroyed thousands of homes in Los Angeles.
Local leaders are upset about the potential dangers posed to residents by the EPA's plan to open a site to process Eaton fire debris near Lario Park.