Slower winds and cooler temperatures on Friday provided some reprieve for crews battling the Los Angeles-area wildfires as search teams looked for dozens of missing people and thousands of evacuees waited to reenter their homes.
Local officials have told most evacuees to stay away until hazardous materials and search and rescue teams sifted through the ash and rubble. Though dangerous fire weather conditions have eased, officials warned of other potential risks in impacted neighborhoods, including toxic waste and hazardous electricity and gas lines.
Firefighters, meanwhile, increased containment on the three active blazes – the Palisades, Eaton and Auto fires – which have burned nearly 40,000 acres, an area larger than the city of Miami. The National Weather Service cautioned the colder temperatures and light winds may be short-lived as extreme fire weather was forecast to return early next week.
At least 27 people have died in the fires and another 31 remain missing, officials said. Some 12,000 homes, businesses and other structures have been leveled or damaged in the blazes, Cal Fire said. About 82,400 people were still under evacuation orders while another 90,400 were under evacuation warnings.
Developments:
∎ The Palisades Fire has burned 23,713 acres with 31% containment as of Friday morning, according to Cal Fire. The Eaton Fire was 65% contained at 14,117 acres. The Auto Fire remains at 61 acres with 85% containment.
∎ After more than a week of remote learning, classes at the University of California, Los Angeles, will be in-person again starting next week, the university announced in a statement.
∎ About 23,600 homes and businesses remain without power in Los Angeles County on Friday, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us.
