Fire update: Eaton fire 45% contained. Palisades fire 19% contained

The Eaton fire in Altadena and Pasadena is 45% contained as of Wednesday morning, while the Palisades fire containment slowly increased to 19% as fire crews focused on protecting homes in the Mandeville Canyon area and snuffing out hot spots ahead of another round of potentially damaging Santa Ana winds.

Red flag warnings of critical fire danger will be in place over the burn area -- and much of the Southland -- through 6 p.m., with some areas under the alert until Thursday afternoon.

As of Wednesday morning, the week-old Palisades fire had scorched 23,713 acres. The Eaton fire had burned 14,117 acres.

Containment efforts are steadily progressing along the eastern edge of the Eaton fire near Santa Ana Canyon, fire officials said. The mobile retardant base at Mount Wilson remains active providing fire retardant for helicopters to drop in inaccessible terrain, where ground crews cannot construct containment lines.

Infrared flights have identified isolated heat pockets within the interior of the fire area, where fuels continue to burn out. Tactical patrols and mop-up operations continue along the northern perimeter of the fire.

Hand crews are actively clearing brush and constructing contingency lines in critical areas of La Cañada Flintridge. Contingency resources are strategically prepositioned throughout communities along the fire's western edge to due to the Santa Ana wind conditions.

Urban Search and Rescue efforts, infrastructure assessments, hazardous materials response and damage assessment operations are ongoing for the communities on the southern edge of the fire. These operations are unprecedented in size and scale and are critical for mitigating existing hazards, confirming missing persons reports and obtaining accurate number of structures damaged or destroyed, officials said.

Powerful winds that were expected to begin blowing Tuesday never fully materialized, prompting the National Weather Service to lower high-wind warnings to less-serious wind advisories, and to delay the imposition of a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" red flag warning until 3 a.m. Wednesday.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office on Tuesday reported 17 deaths tied to the Eaton Fire, up from 16 on Monday. Sheriff Robert Luna said he anticipates that number to rise. He said deputies and firefighters are conducting a grid search of the burn area, which he called "a very grim task."

Luna said the sheriff's department has 24 active missing-person cases -- 18 in the Eaton fire area and six others in the Malibu area near the Palisades fire.

Mandatory evacuation orders remained in place for thousands of residents in the Eaton fire area. On Tuesday afternoon, orders were lifted for an area south of Canyon Crest Road and west of Lincoln Avenue in the Altadena area, according to the sheriff's department.

On Monday, evacuations were lifted in the Altadena Kinneloa Mesa community, in an area south of Heights Road to New York Drive, and east of Outpost Lane to Sierra Madre Villa. Only residents will be permitted in the area.

Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Anthony Marrone said earlier that more than 7,000 structures are believed to have been destroyed or damaged -- many of them homes -- and nearly 40,000 structures were said to be threatened. Those numbers were expected to rise after further evaluation.

Damage assessments in the Eaton Fire area were about 45% completed as of Wednesday morning, 4,627 have been officially reported as destroyed, and 486 damaged.

Six firefighters have suffered undisclosed injuries fighting the blaze, according to the county fire department.

SoCalGas officials said they had temporarily shut off natural gas service to 16,700 customers Saturday in the Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre communities. As of Tuesday afternoon, the utility had restored service to 366 of those customers. The Gas Co. has established an information booth for residents at the Santa Anita Mall, Gate 8, at 400 S. Baldwin Ave. in Arcadia to provide information for customers.

An evacuation center was set up at the Pasadena Convention Center at 300 E. Green St. The Humane Society is on-site to accept small pets for boarding. Small animals were also being accepted at Baldwin Park Animal Care Center at 4275 Elton St., while large animals were accepted at Industry Hills Expo Center at 16200 Temple Ave., city of Industry.

The Pasadena Unified School District, which includes Altadena, closed its campuses until at least Friday. The Glendale Unified School District announced its schools reopened Monday with the exception of Rosemont Middle School, where a tree fell on campus.

While nearly all schools outside of evacuation zones in the Los Angeles Unified School District reopened Monday, all schools in the La Cañada Unified School District remained closed Monday. That district reopened Tuesday.

Palisades fire

Red flag warnings of critical fire danger will be in place over the burn area -- and much of the Southland -- through 6 p.m. Wednesday, with some areas under the alert until Thursday afternoon.

But powerful winds that were expected to begin blowing Tuesday never fully materialized, prompting the National Weather Service to lower high-wind warnings to less-serious wind advisories, and to delay imposition of a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" red flag warning until Wednesday morning.

At least eight people have died in the week-old Palisades Fire, although authorities said they anticipate the number of fatalities to continue rising as crews begin sifting through the ash and rubble.

Los Angeles Police Department Cmdr. Steve Embrich said Tuesday afternoon that the agency has investigated 35 missing-person reports tied to the fire -- with 20 of them found safe, two are believed to be dead but awaiting confirmation from the medical examiner, and 13 remaining unaccounted for.

At least 5,000 structures are believed to have been destroyed or damaged in the blaze that has been burning since January 7. That number is also expected to rise as more assessments are done in the burn area.

Additional reporting by City News Service.