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LOS ANGELES — At least 24 people are believed to be dead and more than a dozen others remain unaccounted for as multiple wildfires, 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. About 105,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders and another 87,000 are under evacuation warnings.
According to the medical examiner, there have been 16 confirmed deaths linked to the Eaton Fire and eight fatalities due to the Palisades Fire.
The number of fatalities is expected to rise as officials continue to battle the dual fires.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection listed three ongoing wildfires in the Los Angeles area as of Sunday night.
The Palisades Fire began in the Pacific Palisades area of the city on Jan. 7. It is at 23,713 acres in size with 13% containment. Approximately 5,000 structures have been destroyed.
The Eaton Fire north of Pasadena also began on Jan. 7. It is burning at 14,117 acres with 27% containment on Sunday. Around 7,000 structures are believed to have been damaged or destroyed.
The Hurst Fire in Sylmar, northwest of San Fernando, began on Jan. 7 and has burned 799 acres. It is at 89% containment.
High winds threaten explosive fire growth
Weather officials have issued a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” red flag warning for western Los Angeles County and most of Ventura County beginning on Tuesday at 4 a.m. into Wednesday at noon, warning of a heightened fire risk even as crews rush to extinguish blazes tearing through the region.
A new Santa Ana wind event is forecast today through Wednesday with the strongest winds Tuesday into Wednesday. Peak winds for this next event will be weaker than those last week.
Nevertheless, winds will be strong enough to potentially cause explosive fire growth.
On Monday morning and the rest of the day, winds will begin to pick up in the mountains and higher elevations, gusting 20 to 30 mph, locally as high as 50 mph.
Edison International can’t rule out equipment role in wildfires, CEO says
Pedro Pizarro, the president and CEO of Edison International, told “Good Morning America” on Monday that the company cannot yet rule the possibility that its energy infrastructure played a role in sparking wildfires now raging around Los Angeles.
Fire agencies are investigating whether Southern California Edison — a subsidiary of Edison International — infrastructure sites caused fires in areas devastated by the Eaton and Hurst wildfires.
“You can’t rule out anything ever until you can get your eyes on the equipment,” Pizarro said.
Power company CEO answers questions about California wildfires
“Typically, when there’s a spark created by equipment, we will see the electrical anomaly — we haven’t seen that,” Pizarro said of a possible incident involving Edison infrastructure and the Hurst Fire burning outside of San Fernando.
“That said, we have not been able to get close to the equipment,” he continued. “As soon as we can get close to it, we’ll inspect and be transparent with the public.”
“We may find something different,” Pizarro added.
Pizarro said Edison also recorded damage to equipment at the site of the Eaton Fire in the mountains north of Pasadena. “We don’t know whether the damage happened before or after the start of the fire,” he said.
Pizarro said that Edison International will be shutting off power to some California residents as a precaution amid red flag warnings.
“We have about 450,000 customers who we’ve warned they may need to have their power shut off,” Pizarro said.
68 arrested, many for burglary, in fire evacuation zones, police say
At least 68 people have been arrested in fire evacuation zones, according to law enforcement officials, as police work to secure devastated parts of Los Angeles and firefighters continue to battle wildfires.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it recorded 29 arrests — 25 in the Eaton Fire area north of Pasadena and four in the Palisades Fire area in western Los Angeles.
The Santa Monica Police Department reported 39 arrests in evacuated areas in its jurisdiction on Saturday night, including 10 for burglary and six for possession of burglary tools. None of those arrested lived in the area, the department said.
ABC News contributed to this report.
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