LA wildfires day 9: What’s the latest, who are the victims and what’s next? | Climate crisis news

Firefighters in Los Angeles County in the United States are bracing for another round of strong winds as they continue to battle wildfires.

The Palisades Fire remains the largest. It’s been burning for a week. Another wildfire broke out in neighboring Ventura County on Monday, prompting new evacuation orders.

The total area burned in the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires is about 16,425 hectares (40,588 acres), an area larger than Paris.

Here’s what we know:

What’s the latest in the field?

Number of dead and missing

• At least 25 people have lost their lives in the wildfires, with eight deaths linked to the Palisades fire and 17 to the Eaton fire.
• According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), the Eaton fire is now the most destructive and deadliest wildfire in Southern California history, with the Palisades fire the second deadliest.
• The October 2003 Cedar Fire previously held the record as the region’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire, destroying nearly 2,820 structures and killing 15 people in San Diego County.

Active fires:

Three large wildfires are still burning in Los Angeles:

• Palisade fireon the western outskirts of the city, it burned 9,596 hectares (23,713 acres), with 17 percent containment.
• The Eaton firein the foothills east of the city, it covered 5,712 hectares (14,117 acres), with 35 percent retention.

• Fire in Hurst 323 hectares (799 acres) have burned and are 97 percent contained.
• In Ventura County, fire Carwhich began on January 13, has expanded to 24 hectares (61 hectares, up from 5 hectares on Tuesday) and is now 47 percent contained.

Damages and evacuations:

• About 150,000 residents of Los Angeles County remain under evacuation orders, with more than 700 people seeking shelter in nine facilities.

What is expected on Wednesday?

The National Weather Service in Los Angeles has issued a red flag warning for Los Angeles and Ventura counties, in effect from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. (11:00-23:00 GMT) Wednesday.

Stronger winds are likely to create extreme fire weather conditions, and residents are being urged to remain vigilant due to the potential for fires to spread quickly, the agency warned in a social media post.

“Key message: We’re not out of the woods yet,” the post reads. “Winds were less strong today, but another wave could happen tonight and tomorrow.”

Red flag warnings remain active for most of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, as well as parts of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, through Wednesday, according to the agency’s website.

What not to do during a Red Flag warning?

According to the authorities, this warning means that high temperatures, very low humidity and strong winds are expected to combine to produce an increased fire risk, so the recommendations are as follows:

• All burned barrels must be covered with a weighted metal cover if there is no burning ban in a particular area.
• Avoid throwing cigarettes or matches from a moving vehicle, as they can ignite dry roadside grass and start a forest fire.
• Extinguish all outdoor fires properly and avoid throwing live coals on the ground.
• Do not leave the fire unattended. Sparks or embers can fly into leaves or grass, start a fire and spread quickly.

What do we know about the victims?

Officials say identifying the victims could take several weeks because traditional methods such as fingerprinting and visual identification may not be feasible.

This is what we know so far about those reported to have died, based on information from their families and international media.

Anthony Mitchell and his son Justin

Anthony Mitchell, a 68-year-old amputee, and his son Justin, who had cerebral palsy, were waiting for an ambulance to evacuate them.

“They didn’t get away with it,” said Mitchell’s daughter, Hajime White.

She shared that authorities notified the family that Mitchell had been discovered by her son’s bedside in Altadena. According to The Washington Post, the family believes Mitchell was trying to save his son, who was in his 30s.

“He was not going to leave his son. No matter what,” said White, who lives in Warren, Arkansas, and is Justin’s half-sister, adding that her father called her Wednesday morning to say they had to evacuate because of the growing flames. “Then he said, ‘I have to go – there’s a fire in the yard,'” she recalled on January 9.

“I have to go – there’s a fire in the yard.”

Some of the last words of Anthony Mitchell Sr. whose daughter lives in Warren, Arkansas. He died at the bedside of his son – who was living with cerebral palsy – while waiting to be evacuated from the LA fire.

Rest in peace pic.twitter.com/cVs00gx4E1

— Arkansas Worker (@ArkansasWorker) January 13, 2025

Victor Shaw

Victor Shaw, 66, stayed behind to try to fight the blaze in Eaton and was found clutching a garden hose after the blaze tore through his neighbourhood.

According to news outlet KTLA, he was trying to save the home his family had lived in for nearly 55 years. His sister, Shari Shaw, told KTLA that she tried to get her brother to evacuate with her.

“When I went back and yelled his name, he didn’t answer and I had to get out because the embers were so big and it was flying like a firestorm — I had to save myself,” Shari told KTLA. “I looked behind me and I saw that the house was on fire and I had to leave.”

A family friend, Al Tanner, told the outlet that they found Victor’s charred body on the side of the road with a hose the next morning. Tanner said, “It looks like he was trying to save the home that his parents had for almost 55 years.”

Victor Shaw is one of those who lost their lives in the Eaton fire, and his sister told ABC News that he died in a heroic effort to defend his home in Altadena.

Shaw’s body was found outside the house, with the garden hose still in hand.

Read more: https://t.co/izW9Fe6YKR pic.twitter.com/FOcjjp3tqZ

— ABC News (@ABC) January 10, 2025

Rodney Nickerson

Rodney Nickerson, an 82-year-old Altadena resident, died in his bed after staying in bed because he thought he would be fine waiting it out at home, his daughter Kimiko said.

“He was gathering some things, packing a little bit in the car and said he was going to get his things, but he said he was going to stay here too … he said he felt this would pass and he would be here,” she said.

Kimiko said her father bought the house in 1968 with a $5 down payment and raised his family there.

Erlene Kelley

When the Eaton fire started to spread Tuesday night, 83-year-old Erliene Kelley didn’t want to evacuate because previous fires had never reached her Altadena home.

“She was adamant about staying,” her granddaughter Briana Navarro told The Los Angeles Times. “My husband kept asking her if she was sure, if she wanted to come with us.”

After moving from Monmouth, Ill., Kelley and her late husband, Howard, bought their home in the late 1960s and raised their two children there. Navarro said she, her husband and two children moved in with her grandmother after her grandfather’s death. Her father, who lives a few kilometers away, also tried to get her grandmother to leave, but she refused.

Navarro and her family, as well as her father, evacuated the area after being ordered to do so. She was in constant contact with her grandmother through text messages, she said.

Why is part of California now pink?

Images have recently surfaced showing aerial tankers dropping bright red and pink powder over the suburbs of Los Angeles.

The fire retardant has become commonplace in the region.

The Forest Service, which has used 13 planes to drop supplies on the Los Angeles blaze, says they help starve the fire of oxygen and slow the rate of burning by cooling and coating vegetation and other surfaces.

The bright color helps pilots see where they have already dropped retardant to avoid overlap and ensure effective coverage. It also makes the retardant line visible to ground crews, helping them stay behind the treated area where the fire has been slowed.

Perimeter, a company that supplies fire retardants to the Forest Service and other agencies, says phosphate changes the way cellulose in plants breaks down and makes them nonflammable.

Although fire suppressants are generally considered safe for humans, recent research has shown that they can be harmful to human health and the environment due to the chemicals they contain.

The Forest Service prohibits the use of aerial suppressors over waterways and endangered species habitats, except when human life or public safety is at risk due to the potential impact on fish and wildlife health.