Leaders took pointed questions and officials urged residents to be vigilant about potential evacuation orders Thursday as L.A. County and the city of Los Angeles prepared for a third day of windstorms that have left at least seven people dead and thousands homeless throughout L.A.  During a multi-agency morning press conference, officials shared details from the devastation after more than 34,000 acres burned in Los Angeles County, with a death toll likely to rise once the Sheriff’s Department’s homicide detectives are able to safely access the burn area.  Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin described the scale of the devastation for the Eaton Fire, which was his primary concern, as “staggering,” during the live media event.  Nearly 180,000 residents remained under evacuation orders Thursday and more than 5,500 structures have been lost, according to fire officials, who have deployed more than 7,500 state, local, and federal personnel to fight the flames.  Death toll uncertain  The death toll from this week’s catastrophic fires has not yet been determined, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.   “Right now, we frankly don’t know yet,” Luna said at the news conference Thursday morning at the county Hall of Administration in Downtown L.A.   Officials said five people had died in the Eaton Fire by Wednesday, although the sheriff said the preliminary numbers he was getting from ground crews about how many had died could be incomplete.   L.A. City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley confirmed late Thursday that two fatalities were confirmed in connection to the Palisades Fire.   The sheriff is working with the county Medical Examiner’s office. They plan to bring in police dogs to help find people who may have perished in the multiple fires still burning across the county.   “These people are working under very difficult conditions,” Luna said, adding that it “looks like a bomb was dropped” in some areas. “This is a crisis. We don’t know what to expect but we’re ready for anything.”   Eaton Fire growth slows; Palisades Fire expands   Growth of the deadly Eaton Fire burning east of Los Angeles in Altadena and Pasadena has slowed, but the Palisades Fire spread to 17,200 acres by Thursday morning, according to fire officials.   The two massive and destructive fires continued to burn and remained uncontained, fire officials reported.   Firefighters took advantage of a break in strong winds on Tuesday night, slowing the expansion of the Eaton Fire, which was mapped at about 10,600 acres on Thursday morning.   Firefighters were helped by the use of aircraft overnight as the winds decreased, officials reported.   Augustin said his city expected to have an additional 50 strike teams, including some from Arizona, attacking the blaze on Thursday.   Fire crews were progressing on two other smaller but still dangerous wildfires, both of which have impacted the Santa Clarita Valley.    The Hurst Fire, which started near Sylmar and has burned mostly in the hills between the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys, reached 855 acres with 10% containment, while the Lidia Fire near Acton grew to nearly 350 acres with 40% of that contained.   Weather officials forecasted increased Santa Ana winds on Thursday, with increased fire spread.   Palisades Fire   The destruction wrought by a massive wildfire threatening lives and homes in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood is of historic proportions, according to Crowley.   “It is safe to say that the Palisades Fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles,” Crowley said at the Thursday morning press conference.   The Palisades Fire is by far the largest of several brush fires torching Southern California, engulfing 19,978 acres. As of Thursday afternoon, the fire remained completely uncontained since it first sparked Tuesday.   Crowley noted that “extreme fire behavior” continues to complicate firefighters’ efforts to tame the blaze, with wind gusts of up to 60 mph expected to continue throughout Thursday.   She added that the current estimate for the number of damaged or destroyed structures is more than 5,000 as of Thursday evening.  Pointed questions  During the morning conference, which also included a question-and-answer session with credentialed media, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass was asked about the city of L.A.’s initial response to the incident, and whether she thought it was adequate.  Bass said her No. 1 focus was saving lives at the moment.   “Rest assured when that is done, when we are safe, when lives have been saved and homes have been saved, we will absolutely do an evaluation to look at what worked, what didn’t work, and to correct or to hold accountable anybody, department, individual, etc.,” she said.  She also was asked about neighborhoods in the Palisades that still didn’t have firefighting resources present as of Thursday morning.  “First of all, you asked me, ‘Was I frustrated by this?’” Bass said. “Of course, because we all know that this has been an unprecedented event. We also know that fire hydrants are not constructed to deal with this type of massive devastation, and that the No. 1 problem, especially on Tuesday, I mean, on Wednesday, was the fact that we weren’t able to do the air support because of the winds. And so, of course, I am absolutely frustrated by that,” Bass said. In terms of neighborhoods that didn’t have adequate resources, she doubted the veracity but said it’s another problem that would be looked after the incident.   Sunset Fire now fully contained   Firefighters have fully contained the Sunset Fire in Hollywood Hills, Bass said.   “Thanks to the bravery and collaboration of our [Los Angeles Fire Department], the #SunsetFire is fully contained,” Bass reported in an update on the social media platform X.   “If you are returning home, please drive SLOWLY and watch the road. Firefighters are still working in some damaged areas.”   The good news comes hours after officials lifted all remaining evacuation orders for residents in the area.   The fire, which sparked on Wednesday night, grew to 60 acres in size before it was contained.   L.A. County infrastructure ‘destroyed’ in fire area   Catastrophic fires burning in Pacific Palisades and the Pasadena area east of Los Angeles have destroyed much of the infrastructure in the communities, Los Angeles County Director of Public Works Mark Prestrella said at the Thursday morning press conference.   “It’s an absolute tragedy,” Prestrella said.   The county is continuing to assess fire-damaged neighborhoods and communities and is focusing on the recovery of these areas, according to Prestrella.   The county cautioned anyone who stayed behind in the fire zones to be cautious of toxic and hazardous debris.   “Your sewer, water, power and transportation systems have all been significantly damaged,” Prestrella said.   The county has started removing debris, but it is “not safe” for residents or others to touch it, he said.   The city water reservoirs are being used by aircraft to fight the fires. They remain full and continued to be ready for firefighting.   Residents in Pasadena and Pacific Palisades, Topanga Canyon, and other surrounding areas were asked to boil their water as a precaution. The county is delivering water to people who remained in the fire zones.   20 arrested for looting, other crimes   Some 20 people have been arrested for looting and other crimes amid the devastation wrought by the wildfires razing Southern California, Los Angeles County officials said on Thursday.   “In the midst of the emergency, we’ve all seen individuals who are targeting vulnerable communities by burglarizing and looting homes. This is simply unacceptable,” Kathryn Barger, chair of the county’s Board of Supervisors, said at the Thursday morning press conference.   “Shame on those who are preying on our residents during this time of crisis,” Barger said, assuring that offenders would be held accountable.   She added that the Sheriff’s Department is actively patrolling affected communities to protect against criminal activity.   Resources available  The Red Flag Day warning is expected to continue through Friday, although the winds have died down, according to weather and fire officials.   Emergency officials and businesses also offered a number of resources available for residents to help those affected throughout the county.   Uber and Lyft are offering free rides to evacuees, and the Los Angeles Metro system has suspended all fare collection. Airbnb is offering free temporary housing for displaced residents.   There are also numerous evacuation centers listed at lacounty.gov/emergency.  The post L.A. County reels as fires still burn  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.