Slower winds help Los Angeles firefighters, but anxiety mounts among evacuees

Winds have eased in the Los Angeles area, helping firefighters make more progress on the biggest wildfires, as frustration grew among evacuees who were eager to return home more than a week after the fires started. Officials on Thursday said it would most likely take at least another week, possibly more.

Even in evacuated areas that seem safe, homes and businesses need to be checked for toxic chemicals, and electricity and other public utilities have to be restored, officials said. Health officials have also warned about compromised water in some areas.

“Everyone wants to hear a date and we want to give a date,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, acknowledging the weariness among many residents desperate to return to their neighborhoods. “But we need to make sure we’re doing the work appropriately.”

Some progress was made Thursday: Evacuation warnings were lifted for some residents in a handful of zones near the northern side of Topanga State Park and around the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles. Other evacuation orders remained in place.

James White, an incident meteorologist for the Eaton fire, said wind Thursday was expected to bring more moisture through the weekend — which could help the ongoing fire containment efforts.

However, the air in the mountains will remain dry, meaning the risk of fire will remain high there.

The cooler temperatures and more humid weather are expected to stretch into the weekend. But the respite in conditions is likely to be brief: Another windstorm is forecast for late Monday and Tuesday, the weather service said.

Here’s the latest:

Containment updates: The Palisades fire, the largest in the area, had burned nearly 24,000 acres and was 27 per cent contained as of Thursday afternoon. The Eaton fire, covering more than 14,000 acres, was 55 per cent contained. The Hurst fire, which burned through 800 acres in the San Fernando Valley, was 100 per cent contained, officials from the Angeles National Forest said Thursday.

The death toll and destruction grows: The number of deaths attributed to the fires in Los Angeles rose to 27, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner on Thursday evening. The Eaton fire destroyed more than 7,500 structures, including 4,356 single-family homes, 77 multifamily buildings and 123 commercial buildings, officials said Thursday afternoon.

Arrests: Nearly 100 people have been arrested in evacuated zones, with police charging some with looting or trespassing. San Bernardino police officers investigating a brushfire that consumed 34 acres, the Little Mountain fire, said they had arrested a man on two felony charges, including reckless burning. The authorities said the fire’s progress had been stopped, and there were no reported injuries or structural damages.

Damage costs: The fires’ damage to insured homes and businesses is expected to cost between $35 billion and $45 billion, according to a new analysis from CoreLogic, a property analytics company. Facing pressure, State Farm, the largest homeowners insurance company in California, said it would renew policies in place when the fires erupted.

Reopening schools: The superintendent of Pasadena’s school district said she aimed to have schools reopened by the end of the month. But some of the damage is unknown, since some of the schools remain inside the evacuation zone.

Eased fire risk: A batch of red-flag warnings, which indicate increased fire risk, have expired in Southern California. But the warnings remain in effect for the Santa Susana Mountains, the western San Gabriel Mountains and the Interstate 5 corridor, where forecasters predicted gusts of up to 40 mph into Thursday afternoon.