Dangerous winds expected to amplify California wildfires while death toll is 24

Firefighters battling the disastrous wildfires around Los Angeles are prepared for a return of dangerous winds that could again stoke the flames as the death toll in the tragedy has hit at least 24.

Fierce gusts known as Santa Ana winds have been largely blamed for turning the wildfires into devastating infernos that leveled huge tranches of entire neighborhoods around America’s second-largest city which has also been hit by droughThe National Weather Service has issued a rare warning of a “particularly dangerous situation”, beginning overnight on Monday into Tuesday with severe fire conditions through Wednesday. There could be sustained winds of up to 40mph (64 km/h) and gusts in the mountains reaching 70mph (113 kph).

“We are not in the clear as of yet. We must not let our guard down,” the LA fire department chief, Kristin Crowley, said during a Monday morning news briefing.

Officials urged residents to pre-emptively make evacuation plans – and said in order to avoid gridlock people should leave when they receive evacuation warnings, rather than waiting for an orThe Los Angeles county fire chief, Anthony C Marrone, said 70 additional water trucks had arrived to help firefighters fend off flames spread by any renewed gusts. “We are prepared for the upcoming wind event,” Marrone said.

Hundreds of national guard troops are also aiding in the response to the disaster. Crews are stationed in strategic locations around the county in preparation for the hurricane-force winds, Karen Bass, the LA mayor, said on Monday.

In all, four fires have consumed more than 62 sq miles (160 sq km), an area larger than San Francisco. The Eaton fire near Pasadena and the Palisades fire, in a wealthy enclave along the Pacific coast, alone accounted for 59 sq miles (nearly 153 sq km). Early estimates suggest they could be the nation’s costliest ever, as much as $150bn, according to an AccuWeather estimBut in a sign of some progress, firefighters battling the blazes had established some form of containment around each fire, which increased over the weekend.

The relative calm in the winds on Sunday also allowed some people to return to previously evacuated areaBut even as containment increased in the worst of the fires, more bad news emerged from the ashes: The death toll surged to 24 late on Sunday after an update from the Los Angeles county medical examiner. Sixteen of the 24 deaths were attributed to the Eaton fire and eight to the Palisades fire, according to the Los Angeles county coroner’s office. The toll is expected to rise as search dogs conducted systematic searches in leveled neighborhoods.

At least 23 people were also missing, a number authorities said was also likely to rise. Robert Luna, the Los Angeles county sheriff, described the recovery effort as a “grim task” and said remains were being discovered daily.

“I believe we will continue to find remains,” Luna said. Many people are saying: “I just want to go look at my house and I want to see what’s left,” Luna said. “We know that but we have people literally looking for the remains of your neighbors.”

Some residents have been able to return to their homes to survey the damage.

Jim Orlandini, who lost his hardware store in Altadena, a hard-hit neighborhood next to Pasadena, said his home of 40 years surviveds.ate.der.t.