At least 24 people have died as major wildfires continue to ravage the Los Angeles area in the US state of California, the city’s medical examiner said on Sunday.


No fewer than 16 of the fatalities are related to the Eaton Fire near Pasadena, and eight others to the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades district.

There have been several major fires in the region since Tuesday, but these two are the most severe.


Officials fear the death toll may continue to rise, since it may take days before emergency services can safely access all areas impacted by the fires.

Firefighters were preparing for gusts to pick up again in the coming days, exacerbating what officials say could be one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history.

The U.S. weather service forecast wind speeds of up to 110 kilometres per hour for Sunday, which, combined with dry vegetation, favours the rapid and unpredictable spread of both existing and new fires.


The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Cal Fire warned of “critical fire weather” through to Wednesday.

“Life-threatening winds and dangerously low humidity are forecast for much of Southern California – from Ventura to San Diego – creating a significant risk of rapid fire spread,” the department wrote on X.

It warned the wind would increase fire activity and urged people to avoid mowing their lawns and parking their vehicles on dry grass and to ensure all campfires were extinguished.


According to Cal Fire officials, some 12,300 buildings have been destroyed or damaged. Since Tuesday, almost 163 square kilometres of land have gone up in flames – a space almost the size of Washington D.C.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, speaking to broadcaster NBC, said the wildfires would be the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, in terms of the “scale and scope,” as well as the costs it has caused.

Newsom went on to sign an executive order to temporarily suspend environmental regulations for destroyed homes and businesses

Firefighters fought on into the night Saturday in a bid to get on top of massive wildfires around Los Angeles as winds ramped up, pushing the blazes towards previously untouched neighborhoods.

At least 16 people were now confirmed dead from fires that have ripped through the city, leaving communities in ruins and testing the mettle of thousands of firefighters — and millions of California residents.

Despite heroic efforts, including precision sorties from aerial crews, the Palisades Fire continued to grow Saturday, pushing east towards the priceless collections of the Getty Center art museum and north to the densely populated San Fernando Valley.

“We’re a nervous wreck,” Sarah Cohen told the Los Angeles Times of the threat to her Tarzana home.

“Every time they drop water, it gets better. But then it gets worse again.”

Footage from the Mandeville Canyon area showed one home consumed, with a wall of flame licking up a hillside to menace others.

A brief lull in the wind was rapidly giving way to gusts that forecasters warned would feed the blazes for days to come.

“Critical fire-weather conditions will unfortunately ramp up again today for southern California and last through at least early next week,” the National Weather Service said.

“This may lead to the spread of ongoing fires as well as the development of new ones.”

Row
The Palisades fire was 11 percent contained Saturday but had grown to 23,600 acres (9,500 hectares), while the Eaton Fire was at 14,000 acres and 15 percent contained.

Official figures show more than 12,000 structures burned, but Cal Fire’s Todd Hopkins said not all were homes, and the number would also include outbuildings, recreational vehicles and sheds.

The sudden rush of people needing somewhere new to live in the months ahead looked set to make life hard for already-squeezed renters in the city.

“I’m back on the market with tens of thousands of people,” said a man who gave his name as Brian, whose rent-controlled apartment has burned.

“That doesn’t bode well.”

With reports of looting and a nighttime curfew in place, police and National Guard have mounted checkpoints to prevent people getting into the disaster zones.

But that has left residents frustrated as they queue for up to 10 hours to try to get back in and see what, if anything, is left of their homes.

One woman, who gave her name as Janelle, told broadcaster KTLA she knew her house was gone, but she needed “closure.”

“I see the photos, I see the videos, and I just want to see it with my own eyes,” she said, her voice breaking.

The long queues left some people fuming about poor management, the latest gripe from a population already angry over hydrants that ran dry in the initial firefight.

City officials put on a united front Saturday after reports of a behind-the-scenes row and suggestions that Mayor Karen Bass had sacked her fire chief.

“As you see here, the chief and I are lockstep in our number one mission, and that mission is to get us past this emergency,” Bass told reporters.

An at-times tense joint press conference came after Chief Kristin Crowley complained her fire department was short of cash.

Among those known to have died in the tragedy was former Australian child star Rory Sykes, who appeared in British TV show “Kiddy Kapers” in the 1990s.

“It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my beautiful son @Rorysykes to the Malibu fires yesterday. I’m totally heart broken,” his mother Shelley Sykes wrote on social media.


Smoke and flames rise from a hillside as the Palisades fire grows near the Mandeville Canyon neighbourhood and Encino, California, on January 11, 2025. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)


Teams with cadaver dogs were combing through the rubble, with several people known to be missing and fears that the death toll will grow.

Investigation
A huge investigation was underway to determine what caused the blazes, involving the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), along with local authorities, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

“We are not going to leave any rock unturned,” he said.

“If this is a criminal act — I’m not saying it’s going to be — if it is, we need to hold whoever did this, or groups responsible,” Luna added, appealing for anyone who had information to come forward.

While the ignition of a wildfire can be deliberate, they are often natural, and a vital part of an environment’s life cycle.

But urban sprawl puts people more frequently in harm’s way, and the changing climate — supercharged by humanity’s unchecked use of fossil fuels — is exacerbating the conditions that give rise to destructive blazes.

AFP

South Korea’s suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol will not attend the first hearing of his impeachment trial next week because of safety concerns, his lawyer said on Sunday.

Yoon has been holed up in the presidential residence and protected by an elite guard force since being suspended and impeached last month, following a short-lived declaration of martial law that plunged the country into political chaos.

He has refused to meet prosecutors and investigators and his presidential guard unit thwarted an attempt to arrest him following a tense, hours-long standoff earlier this month.

The Constitutional Court has scheduled five trial dates spanning January 14 to February 4, which will proceed in his absence if he does not attend.

“Concerns about safety and potential incidents have arisen. Therefore, the President will not be able to attend the trial on January 14,” lawyer Yoon Kab-keun said in a statement sent to AFP.

“The President is willing to appear at any time once safety issues are resolved.”

The court will decide whether to uphold his impeachment or restore him to office.

Separately, investigators seeking to question Yoon on insurrection charges linked to his ill-fated martial law declaration are preparing another arrest attempt.

His lawyers have repeatedly said an initial seven-day warrant and the new one they secured this week were both “unlawful”.

Investigators have kept secret the length of the new warrant, with local media reports saying it is longer than the previous seven days.

Rival protesters for and against Yoon have gathered almost daily in the South Korean capital since the crisis unfolded.

On Sunday more demonstrations were planned by rival camps outside Yoon’s residence and on the streets of Seoul — either calling for his impeachment to be declared invalid or for him to be detained immediately.

The president’s legal team say his guards remain on “high alert”.

Yoon would become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested if investigators are able to detain him.

If convicted, he faces prison or even the death penalty.

A team of Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) officials and police are planning for the next attempt, which they said could be their last.

The CIO said anyone obstructing their attempt could be detained themselves and police reportedly held a meeting of top commanders on Friday to plan for the renewed effort.

Former Presidential Security Service (PSS) chief Park Chong-jun — who resigned on Friday and was automatically replaced by a more hardline Yoon loyalist — told reporters there must be no bloodshed in any second arrest attempt.

He faced two days of questioning and did not explain his resignation.

“I am cooperating as diligently as possible with the authorities’ investigation,” he told reporters Saturday.

His replacement, acting PSS chief Kim Seong-hun, refused to turn up to a third summons on Saturday claiming he had to protect Yoon, opening him up to possible arrest.

Lee Jin-ha, head of the service’s security and safety division, was questioned on Saturday.

The National Office of Investigation, a police unit, sent a note to high-ranking police officials in Seoul requesting they prepare to mobilise 1,000 investigators for the fresh attempt, the Yonhap news agency reported.

As the crisis goes on Yoon’s ruling party has seen a bump in approval ratings.

A Gallup survey published Friday showed the People Power Party’s approval rating had risen to 34 percent from 24 percent three weeks ago.

AFP