Death toll in LA climbs to 24, 12,000 homes, businesses burned, Palisades, Eaton fires rage uncontained

The LA Times reports that at least 24 people have died in the blaze as the National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings for fires in the areas in and around Los Angeles. 16 of the 24 deaths have been from the Eaton fire and eight were from the Palisades fire. Additionally, at least 16 people have been reported missing and the names of those who have died are not all yet known.

Search and recovery operations are ongoing in the region as the death toll is expected to rise. Some 12,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed as search teams go from house to house in their recovery efforts.

As of Monday morning, the Eaton fire has burned through over 14,000 acres and is 33 percent contained while the Palisades fire has burned through nearly 24,000 and is only 14 percent contained. The smaller Hurst fire, which has burned through around 800 acres, is 95 percent contained. Amid the large-scale disaster, many have placed blame on local and state officials in California for mismanagement.

Smaller fires that have been handled include the Lidia fire in the Antelope Valley north of LA, the Kenneth fire in the San Fernando Valley, the Sunset fire near Runyon Canyon, and the Woodley fire in the Sepulveda Basin, per NBC4.

Wind gusts reaching 70 mph and sustained winds at 50 mph have been recorded by the National Weather Service. Those winds will likely persist through Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.

At least 150,000 people have evacuated from the area and many will not be able to return to their homes until Thursday of this week due to another round of fire risk, the AP reported. LA City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said over the weekend that the fire is "one of the most challenging natural events in the history of this city" and that is it not over yet.