California Wildfires: Death Toll Climbs To 10, Looters Arrested

WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (Bernama-UPI) -- The death toll from the worst wildfire in California history continued to rise, with the Los Angeles medical examiner reporting Thursday night that 10 people have died as a result of the blazes, United Press International (UPI) reported.

The medical examiner's office said in a statement that it was notified of the 10 deaths as of 9 pm PST Thursday. Identification was pending and could take weeks, it said, as the examiner is unable to reach the locations of the deaths due to the fires.

"The Department of Medical Examiner understands how important it is to identify those lost in the wildfires and is working diligently, while following safety protocols, to provide the information to the next of kin as soon as reasonably possible," the office said.

The death toll had been at five earlier Thursday.

Five blazes continued to burn early Friday in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, spanning tens of thousands of acres. Evacuation orders have been issued, affecting more than 180,000 people, with evacuation warnings in place for several zones near the fires.

Dramatic video published online shows vast swaths of structures destroyed and damaged as the fires are burn through affluent United States (US) areas, some home to celebrities.

The cause of each of the five fires is under investigation.

The Palisades fire, the largest of the blazes at nearly 20,000 acres burned, has destroyed more than 5,000 structures, with over 13,300 more threatened, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Thursday night update. The blaze ignited Tuesday and was six percent contained.

The Eaton fire, the second-largest fire at 13,690 acres, has destroyed at least 4,000 structures and claimed the lives of two people, Cal Fire's update said. It also ignited Tuesday and had zero percent containment.

The Kenneth, Hurst and Lidia fires were all smaller than 1,000 acres. They were at zero percent containment, except for Lidia, which was 75 percent contained.

Progress was being made on the Kenneth blaze, with the Ventura County Fire Department announcing Thursday night that its forward progress had been halted.

Four hundred firefighters were to remain on scene overnight to provide structure protection and to knock out hot spots, the department said in a statement.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is seeking to implement a 6 am to 6 pm curfew starting Thursday night for areas around the Palisades and Eaton fires to prevent looters.

At least 20 looters have already been arrested, and authorities have requested the state's National Guard to aid local law enforcement.

"We must stand up against opportunistic people who want to prey on these victims. Los Angeles County will not stand by and allow an already traumatic experience to be further compounded," Board of Supervisors Chair Supervisor Kathryn Barger said in a statement.

All Los Angeles Unified Schools and offices will be closed Friday, it said in a statement.

-- BERNAMA-UPI