Live L.A. fire updates: Crews improve containment on Palisades, Eaton fires; some residents allowed to return

A week after the Eaton fire destroyed thousands of homes in Altadena, the scope of the disaster is starting to come into focus, but still feels unreal for one multi-generational family.

Three generations of Danielle Stone’s family lost three homes in the fire. An untold number of memories and photos are gone, but like many homeowners in Altadena, that horrible reality still feels like a dream.

When Michael Olson saw what would become the Eaton fire, the flames at the base of an electrical tower looked small, seemingly manageable.

Then the winds that night on Jan. 7 blew a shower of sparks across the mountainside above his Pasadena home.

These men have dedicated their careers to stopping people’s homes from burning down, but when the Eaton fire arrived on their doorstep, even their decades of firefighting expertise were no match for its wrath.

“I’ve never seen anything like this; it’s like battling a hurricane, but instead of water it is flames,” said Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Jerry Puga, describing the fire that razed his Altadena home.

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Crews have made progress against the California fires, with seemingly each new day bringing a further boost in containment.

But what do those figures mean? The Times’ Hannah Fry explains.

They’re calling it the miracle mansion of Malibu.

The beachfront house stands tall amid piles of rubble, still smoking from the Palisades fire, in an iconic image splashed around the world by news outlets.

Containment for the Palisades fire is now 31%, up from 27% Thursday as firefighters continue to make gains in favorable weather conditions.

As conditions improve, the fire command has announced limited reentry for some evacuation zones, including parts of Encino and Brentwood within the city of Los Angeles. The Palisades fire has burned 23,713 acres.

The maps now reflects only a fraction of the structures lost -- because homes and businesses will not be officially declared damaged or destroyed until they are inspected. The massive loss numbers were based on aerial reviews.

Health officials confirmed Thursday that a stomach bug is circulating among people at the wildfire evacuation center in Pasadena.

Manuel Carmona, Pasadena’s acting director of Public Health, said that his department and health officials from the American Red Cross, which is overseeing medical care at the Pasadena Convention Center, are “seeing people who are experiencing illness, but you know, we’re providing appropriate medical treatment and making sure that they’re not affecting others.”

Firefighters battling the Eaton fire have raised the containment to 65% as they continue to make progress in rough terrain. The fire is expected to stay within its current footprint and has not grown from 14,117 acres in recent days, according to officials.

Inspectors have verified that 7,193 structures have been destroyed and 805 damaged so far. Damage inspection is about three-quarters complete. Urban search and rescue teams have made over 8,000 inspections.

Firefighters are also assessing the watershed to check for potential debris flow, risk to life, flooding and other hazards, according to emergency officials.

Temperatures are expected to remain cool over the weekend, with mild south and west winds that will contribute to a marine layer starting Friday. But a dry weather pattern from an offshore flow will return by Monday, according to forecasts. The Angeles National Forest remains closed through Sunday.

The Pasadena Unified School District will reopen campuses in phases over a two-week stretch with the goal of returning all students to in-person learning by the end of January as it begins recovery from the Eaton fire, which destroyed several schools and forced the closure of all campuses.

District officials, speaking at a board meeting Thursday night, said that an initial group of schools would reopen Jan. 23, bringing at least 3,400 students back to classrooms. Those schools include Hamilton Elementary School, Willard Elementary School, San Rafael Elementary School, Blair Middle School, Blair High School, Rose City High School, CIS Academy, and a handful of other facilities, said Supt. Elizabeth Blanco.

WASHINGTON —  While firefighters continue to battle the Los Angeles County fires, California’s Sen. Alex Padilla is introducing a package of bills to increase their pay and create housing for those affected by disasters — which could later add to the state’s affordable housing supply.

“Just like the firefighters on the lines right now, putting out the fires, we have to work together in our response and our recovery,” Padilla said in an interview with The Times in his U.S. Senate office.

As wildfire tore through the canyons of Pacific Palisades, firefighters waged a desperate battle to save homes and lives.

Seventeen miles east in downtown L.A., dozens of officials huddled around computers over a long conference room table in the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s emergency operations center. Screens beamed in the system’s water pressure from remote sensors stationed across the city.

Containment on the Palisades and Eaton fires that have kept thousands of Los Angeles County residents out of their homes, some for more than a week, grew overnight after winds that have plagued the region began to die down.

The Eaton fire, which has burned just over 14,100 acres in Pasadena and Altadena, jumped to 55% containment on Thursday morning, up from 45% a day earlier. At the Palisades fire, which has burned 23,700 acres, containment was at 27% Thursday night, up from 17% a day earlier, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The explosion of smoke and ash that erupted from two wildfires was beyond belief.

In the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, as the Eaton fire engulfed homes and businesses, a thick blanket of smoke rolled over the horizon, blocking out the sun.