DDN: With the fire’s late push to the northeast, new evacuation advisories were issued, and the amount of land burned increased, the death toll from the over 21,000-acre wildfire that devastated much of Pacific Palisades rose to five. Firefighters were able to gradually boost containment of the blaze to eight percent.
Five deaths have been linked to the Palisades Fire, and six more to the Eaton Fire in the Altadena/Pasadena area, according to Friday’s report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office.
Until the remains are processed at the office’s facilities, the medical examiner cannot establish their humanness. This was included in the report regarding the fire sites.
On Thursday, coroner’s deputies excavated human remains from a house near Malibu’s Duke’s restaurant location. According to sheriff’s department officials who spoke to media at the site, the discovery of the remains occurred during a welfare check at the burned-out residence after deputies received a missing person complaint.
Additional information was not provided. The “tragic news weighs heavily on our hearts,” according to a statement sent by Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart.
“This is a painful reminder of the profound impact this fire is having on our community,” stated the governor. We are more than just a metropolis here in Malibu; we are family, friends, and neighbors.
Everyone feels someone’s loss, even if we don’t know their name. Unite, provide each other support, and demonstrate the resiliency that characterizes our community in these challenging times.
The 15300 block of Friends Street in Pacific Palisades was the scene of another death, according to Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell. Based on their investigation, he said, authorities concluded that the fatality was “fire-related.” Additional information was withheld.
David Ortiz, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department, stated that the Palisades Fire was reported at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday in the vicinity of Piedra Morada and Monte Hermoso drives.
The combination of high fuel loads and strong Santa Ana winds allowed it to keep growing exponentially on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Cal Fire reported that the Palisades Fire had spread 21,596 acres and was 8 percent contained as of Saturday morning at 5 a.m.
On Friday night, though, the fire pushed northeast with a vengeance, and evacuation orders were issued that extended north toward Encino and as far east as Sepulveda Boulevard, about reaching the San Diego (405).
Firefighting aircraft doused the fire with water and dropped fire retardant multiple times in an effort to contain it.
About 5,316 buildings may have been burned by the fire, according to a Cal Fire aerial survey conducted on Thursday. In addition to larger buildings like homes and businesses, those “structures” could also include more diminutive ones like recreational vehicles, sheds, or other “minor buildings.”
“It is safe to say the Palisades Fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles,” expressed Chief Kristin Crowley of the Los Angeles Fire Department during a Thursday morning briefing.
Images captured by cameras in the region of the fire showed complete destruction, with flames leaping from one building to another in the Palisades.
Nobody knew what started the fire. In the midst of what meteorologists described as the worst Southland windstorm in ten years, it erupted.
The wind event’s strongest gusts hit the fire area at 10 p.m. Red flag warnings of extreme fire danger were anticipated to remain in effect until Friday night, but they were lifted on Tuesday and early Wednesday morning.
A large area, often bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the south, Topanga Canyon Boulevard on the west, Mulholland Drive on the north, and Kenter Avenue on the east, was subject to mandatory evacuation orders.
Chief Anthony Marrone of the Los Angeles County Fire Department reported a “high number of significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate, in addition to first responders who were on the fire lines.”
Residents north of Montana Avenue from the beach to 11th Street and north of San Vicente Boulevard between beach Boulevard and 26th Street were ordered to evacuate by Santa Monica when the fire started to spread to the east. All additional residents north of Montana Avenue were issued an evacuation alert.
On Friday, the directives were revised such that the required order would only apply to locations north of San Vicente. The evacuation order was revoked for properties between Wilshire Boulevard and Montana Avenue, but it remained in effect for all properties between San Vicente and Montana Avenue.
As flames engulfed Malibu, the city also issued evacuation orders.
El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills, the Pasadena Convention Center, and the Westwood Recreation Center were all designated as evacuation sites.
The Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank or Pierce College in Woodland Hills are good places to take large animals. Both the Agoura Animal Care Center and the Pasadena Humane Society accept small animals.
Up north of the McClure Tunnel and all the way across the fire zone, Pacific Coast Highway is still closed. At Lincoln Boulevard, the Santa Monica (10), which is heading west, is still closed.
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Kathryn Barger, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and the city of Los Angeles both made emergency declarations in reaction to the incident. An emergency proclamation was subsequently signed by Governor Gavin Newsom.
According to Newsom, President Joe Biden had authorized government financing to assist with the expense of the firefighting effort, as Biden was in the Los Angeles area when the fire broke out. Emergency funds, which typically cover 75% of firefighting and recovery costs, will cover 100% for 180 days, according to Biden’s announcement on Thursday.
Capt. Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department announced on Tuesday night that a female firefighter, aged 25, was sent to the hospital after suffering a severe head injury while battling the Palisades Fire. Nobody knew what caused the injury.
The area surrounding Duke’s restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway was also the site of other burn injuries, according to Scott. Both the nature and extent of the injuries sustained by those individuals remained unknown.
Earlier this week, footage from the fire line showed buildings on the Palisades Charter High School campus engulfed in flames. The school was closed this week. The Temescal Canyon Road theater Palisades, which is next to the high school, was totally consumed by fire. It was also thought that two primary schools had burned down.
Cholada Thai and the Reel Inn, two famous local eateries, were both leveled.
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The Pacific Palisades museum Getty Villa remained unharmed but will be closed until Monday, if not longer.
The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades is home to the Getty Art Collection and its employees, who “remain safe,” according to a statement released by Katherine Fleming, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust. However, “some trees and vegetation on site have burned.”
A priceless assemblage of classical Greek and Roman artifacts is kept in the Villa.
Along with the San Diego (405) Freeway, the Brentwood museum of the Getty was reportedly closed “out of caution and to help alleviate traffic in the area.”
Natural gas service to the Malibu community, extending from Pepperdine University to Brentwood Country Club, was cut off by SoCalGas. Chris Gilbride of SoCalGas reported that approximately 15,000 customers in the affected areas were temporarily without gas supply.
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