California fires updates: Death toll in Los Angeles fires rises to 24

Thousands of firefighters are battling the sprawling wildfires across LA.

ByJon Haworth, Emily Shapiro, Nadine El-Bawab, Meredith Deliso, Ivan Pereira, David Brennan, and Bill Hutchinson
Last Updated: January 12, 2025, 8:26 PM EST

At least 24 people are believed to be dead and more than a dozen others remain unaccounted for as multiple fires, fueled by severe drought conditions and strong Santa Ana winds, continue to rage across Southern California, leaving fire crews scrambling to contain the historic destruction.

Thousands of firefighters are battling several sprawling wildfires across 45 square miles of densely populated Los Angeles County. The largest, the Palisades Fire, in Pacific Palisades, has scorched nearly 24,000 acres, destroyed thousands of structures and is 11% contained. 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.

About 105,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders and another 87,000 are under evacuation warnings.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Jan 24, 2025, 2:20 pm

Tracking ongoing California wildfires

The Palisades Fire, which began in the Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7, has destroyed or damaged more than 6,000 structures. It's covered more than 23,000 acres and is at 87% containment.

The Eaton Fire north of Pasadena also began on Jan. 7 and has destroyed or damaged more than 10,000 structures. It's burned over 14,000 acres and is at 95% containment.

Jan 12, 2025, 6:51 PM EST

Red flag alert will stay in effect through Wednesday

The National Weather Service on Sunday issued another red flag warning for fire danger in Southern California.

This is the fourth time in three months the NWS has issued the high-level alert, with the last one occurring last week when winds went up to 100 mph and the fires in Los Angeles County began.

Winds are expected to gust between 45 and 70 mph Tuesday morning through Wednesday morning in Southern California.
ABC News

Winds are expected to gust from 45 to 70 mph Tuesday morning through Wednesday morning.

The red flag warning is the highest level alert the agency is capable of issuing and is intended to invoke the highest level of urgency and attention.

Jan 12, 2025, 6:27 PM EST

24,000 people have registered for FEMA aid: White House

Over 24,000 people have registered for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency since President Joe Biden approved the Major Disaster Declaration last week, a White House official reported.

The number was shared as Biden convened federal officials for a briefing on Sunday about the latest about the Los Angeles County fires and the ongoing federal efforts to support those affected.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell had appeared on ABC's "This Week" earlier in the day, saying the agency was already "starting to help support this recovery piece" by working with the local jurisdictions to "understand what their long-term recovery needs are going to be."

Jan 12, 2025, 6:04 PM EST

Power shutoffs in evacuated areas will remain until Jan. 15

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone shared an update on Sunday for residents of evacuated areas, saying conversations about lifting the mandate will not begin until after the red flag warning is lifted on Wednesday.

"I ask all Los Angeles County residents in the wildfire-prone areas to understand that the necessary public safety power shutoffs are important for our collective fire safety in preventing the next wildfire natural disaster," Marrone said.

LA County is under a red flag warning until 6 p.m. on Jan. 15, according to the National Weather Service.

Jan 12, 2025, 6:00 PM EST

Palisades Fire: Over 23,700 acres and 11% containment

Los Angeles County fire officials shared an update on the progress being made to combat the vast Palisades Fire on Sunday afternoon, saying there has been a significant decrease in "active flame activity."

The Palisades Fire had spread 23,713 acres with 11% of the massive blaze contained as of 2:30 p.m. local time, according to Cal Fire.

"We have crews in there, continuing to work the fire’s edge," Cal Fire Operations Chief Christian Litz said. "There's still heat. You're not going to see a lot of flame activity out there. It's looking really good, as far as activity, but there's still heat all along the edges."

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