Death toll climbs to 27 from California fires as return home for thousands of evacuees uncertain

While Californians and Angelenos are experiencing a temporary reprieve from the intense wildfire danger that has plagued the region for the past nine days, the return home for thousands of evacuees remains uncertain amid the somber news of a rising death toll. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner now reports that 27 people have been confirmed to have died in the Palisades and Eaton fires, with 31 people still missing. Meanwhile, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during a morning news conference Thursday that the repopulation of all evacuated areas will not occur for at least one more week.“As fast as we can, we continue to plan for the repopulation of evacuated areas when safe,” he said.“When I say one more week, that does not include the entire evacuation order area, we’re doing our best as we know that this is a challenge for our residents.”Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna stressed that his deputies continue to hold several locations, where they are waiting for the appropriate resources to come in and recover human remains.“If you haven’t been out there, it literally looks like a bomb dropped,” Luna stressed.

“There are areas right now that we have to hold people away from so our people can do their job appropriately.”The recovery process will be long and arduous for the affected communities surrounding Los Angeles.As the fires continue to burn, the focus remains on containment, search and rescue, and supporting those impacted by the devastating event.“We are not in the clear,” Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristen Crowley said.

“We must not let our guard down as we have, right now, extreme fire behavior.And we need to make sure that the community is staying updated with the most information.

Follow all evacuation warnings and orders without delay.”The FOX Forecast Center said winds have significantly weakened, providing firefighters with their first substantial break since the initial outbreak on Jan.7.

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