LA fires live updates: Palisades, Eaton fires continue to burn as death toll rises; extreme winds predicted to return; police arrest dozens for looting

It’s heading into the evening in Los Angeles, so we’ll be scaling back our live coverage this afternoon to only the major updates.

Here’s a summary of what we covered today:

• The Palisades Fire remains the largest at 23,706 acres burnt (9593 hectares) and six days into the firefight it is only 11 per cent contained.
• The Eaton Fire has burnt 14,117 acres (5712 hectares) and is 27 per cent contained.
• The smaller Hurst Fire is still burning, but is now 89 per cent contained.
• The death toll has risen to at least 24.
• Weather conditions are expected to deteriorate in the coming days as strong Santa Ana winds return. A “Red Flag Warning” was issued by the National Weather Service for strong winds and dry conditions.
• More than 12,000 structures, including homes, businesses and cars, have been burnt.
• About 150,000 people have evacuated and 700 are in shelters.
• Emergency services are going home-to-home with cadaver dogs to search for casualties and to assess damage.

The prime minister has offered his condolences to the family of Rory Sykes, an Australian man killed in the Los Angeles fires.

Sykes, who had cerebral palsy and was born blind, died when the Palisades Fire tore through the Malibu cottage he lived in nearby his mother Shelley’s home.

Australian citizen Rory Sykes, who died in the Los Angeles fires, pictured with his mother Shelley Sykes.Credit: X

She told ABC News her son had locked the door, and by the time she had found a fire crew to help, the cottage had burnt.

“This is a tragedy that an Australian has lost his life,” Anthony Albanese said.

“DFAT is in close contact with his family, who are providing consular assistance through this devastating time.”

The Pasadena Humane animal shelter has taken in more than 400 pets and wild animals found injured or lost due to the Eaton Fire.

For those unlucky enough to be away from home when the evacuations came into effect, this meant leaving pets behind. Pasadena Humane has been inundated with dogs and cats suffering significant burns.

The animal shelter has begun sending teams into burnt areas to search for injured animals.

“These animals are suffering from smoke inhalation, singed paws, burns, dehydration and more,” chief executive Dia DuVernet said.

“This is a human and animal tragedy on an unimaginable scale.”

Their patients include a tiny puppy just five days old, that was found under a collapsed building. The puppy has already been placed with a foster carer.

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has delayed the release of her upcoming Netflix show due to the ongoing fires.

With Love, Meghan was due to be released this week. It will now premiere on March 4.

Meghan and Harry at a Pasadena evacuation centre. Credit: CBS News

“I’m thankful to my partners at Netflix for supporting me in delaying the launch, as we focus on the needs of those impacted by the wildfires in my home state of California,” Meghan said.

Meghan and Prince Harry have been volunteering their time to help those fleeing the fires. The pair were spotted at an evacuation site in Pasadena where they served meals to evacuees.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles’s two NBA teams, the Lakers and Clippers, are set to resume their home schedules with games on Monday.

The Lakers had two home games postponed and the Clippers had one following a spate of wildfires.

The NFL has moved the Los Angeles Rams’ wild-card playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings to Arizona.

The NFL has decided to move the Vikings Rams game from LA to Arizona’s State Farm Stadium. CBS Sports reported this would be the first time in 88 years the NFL has moved a playoff game to a different city

With Reuters

The fires across Los Angeles have now killed at least 24 people, the LA medical examiner’s office said.

The deaths are still under investigation.

Extraordinary pictures are coming into the newsroom every minute revealing the enormous trail of destruction and immense scale of the fires which are razing Los Angeles.

Here are just a few of the incredible images coming in from LA:

Ella Venne holds a cup she found in the remains of her family’s home destroyed by the Eaton Fire.Credit: AP

A group of firefighters traverse a steep hill while battling the Palisades Fire.Credit: AP

Firefighters watch as water is dropped on the Palisades Fire.Credit: AP

Homes are seen burned while a few still stand in Pacific Palisades.Credit: AP

An Australian woman living with her family in Los Angeles has lost her home in the Palisades Fire.

Vanessa Quinn lived in Pacific Palisades with her husband Devon and their two children. The family were home when they received a fire warning on their phone. Within 15 minutes they could see the smoke from their backyard.

Devon and Vanessa Quinn returned to find their home destroyed.

Quinn told Sunrise the family threw as much of their belongings as they could into a car and joined the exodus on Sunset Boulevard.

“It took us two hours to do what would normally be a one-minute drive to get out. So everybody was trapped. It was very stressful,” she said.

Her husband Devon said the smoke looked like a “large dragon”.

After sheltering with family in the desert, the couple returned to their Pacific Palisades home to find it had been burnt to the ground.

“We’re so happy that we’re all safe and our dog as well … it’s onwards and upwards.”

A family member has launched a GoFundMe for the family, which you can access here.

About 150,000 people are under evacuation orders with more than 700 people taking refuge in nine shelters.

Officials said that most of those orders were unlikely to be lifted before the red flag warnings of expected high winds expire on Wednesday evening.

Nearly 70,000 customers were without power across California as of Sunday morning, more than half of them in Los Angeles County, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide.

Sewerage, water and power infrastructure across the region have been significantly damaged, officials said.

AP

An NBC reporter has shared the heartwarming moment a man who lost his home in the Palisades Fire was reunited with his dog six days later.

Casey Colvin wasn’t at home when the evacuation order was put in place, and wasn’t allowed to return to his home for his two dogs.

On the first day of the disaster he met a firefighter who agreed to take down his address. He returned with one of Colvin’s dogs, but his other rescue dog Oreo had run away.

Oreo was spotted sleeping in the burnt shell of his neighbour’s home, but the skittish dog still couldn’t be rescued.

Earlier today NBC shared the amazing moment Colvin was finally able to track down Oreo. The moment Orea spotted his owner he ran from the burnt house – black with ash but otherwise unharmed.

While firefighters are still battling multiple fire fronts, officials are also turning to grid searches to count the number of people killed.

Officials have launched an online database to allow evacuated residents to see if their homes were damaged or destroyed in a bid to stop residents attempting to return to the fire grounds. Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley urged people to stay away from scorched neighbourhoods.

“There are still active fires that are burning within the Palisades area, making it extremely, extremely dangerous for the public,” Crowley said.

“There’s no power, there’s no water, there’s broken gas lines, and we have unstable structures. The first responders are working as quickly as possible to ensure that it is safe for you to return to your communities.”

Emergency services are going home-to-home in fire-impacted suburbs with cadaver dogs to begin recovering remains and assessing structural damage.

“I don’t expect good news from those [searches],” Sheriff Robert Luna said.

With AP