The known death toll in the fires that are ravaging Los Angeles County this week rose to 11 on Friday, the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed, as firefighters struggling against high winds all week were given a reprieve on the fourth day of seemingly unstoppable blazes that have destroyed entire neighborhoods and over 10,000 homes and buildings as residents flee the area for their lives.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marron said on Friday afternoon that while there is still a long road ahead, firefighters were at that point in the best position yet to contain the raging and destructive fires.
The firefighters battling the unprecedented fires — the first of which began on Tuesday amid high wind official warnings — were able to stymie the new Kenneth Fire, which ignited in San Fernando Valley just 2 miles from a school that has become a makeshift shelter and moved toward Ventura on Thursday night. On Friday afternoon, the Kenneth Fire was 35 percent contained; the Palisades Fire near the coastline was 8 percent contained; and the Eaton Fire, which caused multiple deaths north of Pasadena, was 3 percent contained. The Hurst Fire, south of Santa Clarita, was 70 percent contained.
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On Thursday night, helicopters dropped water over the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles where hurricane-force winds in at least one area reached 99 miles per hour, spreading embers that have pushed the fire in all directions. One of the city’s firefighting planes was struck by a drone flown by a civilian and grounded, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. Meanwhile, California National Guard troops arrived overnight to assist with road closure and were sent to Altadena, where they are reinforcing as Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies began to patrol and prevent potential looting; police said that 20 people were arrested this week for looting in the fires’ wake.
The dead include four men and one woman from Altadena who stayed to defend their homes against the encroaching Eaton Fire. Anthony Mitchell, 67, and an amputee, was with his son Justin, who had cerebral palsy and is believed to have been in his early 20s, according to the Associated Press; The two were waiting for an ambulance and the father was reportedly found waiting by the side of the young man’s bed. Victor Shaw, 66, was found dead, holding a garden hose as he stayed back to fight the fire. His sister, who shared the home with him, told KTLA that she had tried to get him to leave but he remained to try to save the family home of 55 years. Rodney Nickerson, 82, died in his bed as he believed he would be safe there, his daughter told KTLA. Similarly, 83-year-old Erliene Kelley reportedly believed she would be safe, as flames in blazes in years past had not reached her home in Altadena.
“She was adamant about staying,” Briana Navarro, her granddaughter, told the Los Angeles Times.
The massive Palisades Fire has the notoriety of being the most destructive in Los Angeles history. It has now laid waste to over 5,300 structures — meaning homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings and vehicles — as it rapidly tore toward the coast and sent residents of some of the city’s most affluent neighborhoods fleeing in their cars and for some, then on foot as the flames drew closer.
Meanwhile, the deadly 13,960-acre Eaton Fire has burned 5,000 structures and roughly 14,000 acres have been scorched in the area, officials said.
On Thursday, Accuweather increased the estimate of the fires’ damage and economic loss to the area to $135 billion to $150 billion. All five current fires in Los Angeles now rank as the top five blazes in terms of how destructive they have been. So far, the wildfires have burned through more than 36,000 acres, which is roughly the size of Miami or two and a half Manhattans.
Weather agencies announced on Friday that 2024 was officially the hottest year ever for Earth. The jump caused the figure to surpass the long-term warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).
