11 confirmed dead in Eaton Fire; containment improves

The Eaton Fire – the other major fire incinerating neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area – was still burning with some additional containment on Saturday.

As of Saturday afternoon, the wildfire had scorched 14,117 acres and was 15% contained, an improvement from the 3% containment reported Friday night.  

According to preliminary estimates from CalFire, over 7,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed by the blaze.

As of Friday, six people were confirmed dead, including one man who died while defending a home that had been in his family for 55 years. On Saturday, officials stated that another five victims had been found, bringing the total deaths to 11.

L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna also confirmed that 19 arrests had been made in connection with the Eaton Fire; the arrests were made for looting, identity theft, narcotics possession and burglary. A further update from LASD indicated that four arrests made Friday night were for curfew violations.

At a news conference, L.A. County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger said she sent a letter to federal officials asking for further aid, including boots on the ground and financial help.

“My goal is to help communities rebuild like-for-like, if not better,” Barger said, requesting that requirements not related to health and safety be removed by other officials so that the rebuilding process is not cost-prohibitive. “Government mandates cannot mean the difference between whether a community can afford to rebuild or not.”

California Interagency Incident Management Team 5 Operations Section Chief Don Fregulia gave a more in-depth status update on the blaze.

“As we start on the right flank in the Santa Anita Canyon, things are looking good across the front country, but we are still seeing a quite a bit of heat and there is a quite a bit of work in this area,” Fregulia said. “As we come into the Altadena area…it’s a huge, Herculean task to get through it all…it is many weeks of work.”

“By the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, this looks good; crews are engaged and mopping up all through the forest, and we continue to make good progress up there,” Fregulia continued. “The weather is in our favor.”

Also on Saturday afternoon, L.A. County Fire Department Chief Anthony Marrone reiterated his belief that crews will continue to battle the blazes until they are fully contained and that he, like Barger, is looking towards rebuilding in a positive light.

“We stand alongside all of you as we begin to plan for repopulation of evacuated areas, disaster recovery and the rebuilding of your homes and your lives,” Marrone said.

The incredibly destructive wildfire has led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of area residents.

Fire crews were aided by a lull in the Santa Ana winds that had been fanning the flames since Tuesday. Authorities and weather officials are now shifting their concerns to increased gusty winds forecast throughout the region. 

“The fire remained active overnight and is burning in an area with steep, inaccessible terrain and critically dry vegetation. There is still a substantial amount of fire line to construct, including around communities,” fire officials said Saturday morning. “Minimal growth was observed, and resources continued to construct and improve fire line, as well as address public calls for service.”

“Gusty northeast winds will return to high elevations Saturday night into Sunday with gusts up to 30 miles per hour and relative humidity decreasing back below 20 percent,” a CalFire status update stated. “Another Santa Ana wind event is possible around next Tuesday.” 

The National Weather Service echoed those sentiments, forecasting “moderate to locally strong” Santa Ana winds through at least Wednesday. 

Elevated to Critical Fire Weather conditions will continue through that time, according to NWS. 

“These winds combined with dry air and dry vegetation will keep the fire weather threat in the area,” weather officials said. “Moderate to locally strong Santa Ana winds will affect the typical Santa Ana wind corridors on Saturday to Sunday and again Monday through Wednesday.” 

The Eaton Fire started on Tuesday amid hurricane-force winds near Altadena Drive and Midwick Drive in the Altadena area.  

It continued to burn as the Palisades Fire — the most expensive in Los Angeles history — took aim at the heavily populated San Fernando Valley on Saturday morning.

Several other blazes erupted across the Los Angeles region last week, including the Kenneth, Hurst, Sunset and Lidia fires.

Click here for the most up-to-date information on the Eaton Fire from CalFire, and stay with KTLA for continuing coverage of the devastating Los Angeles area wildfires.

The full press conference held by county officials Saturday morning can be viewed below: