Eaton fire containment is at 35% and 17% for Palisades fire

Evacuation orders for the Eaton fire have been lifted for an area south of Canyon Crest Road and west of Lincoln Avenue in the Altadena area, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. 

For residents using the Watch Duty App or Protect.Genasys.com, the area is listed as Ald-ArroyoSeco and Ald-Casitas.

Firefighters worked to stretch containment lines around the Eaton fire Tuesday, taking advantage of lighter-than-anticipated Santa Ana winds, but stronger gusts are still in the forecast for mid-week.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Eaton Fire had burned 14,117 acres, with containment rising to 35%. 

Meanwhile, containment of the Palisades fire crept upward Tuesday as fire crews focused their efforts on protecting homes in the Mandeville Canyon area and snuffing out hot spots ahead of another round of potentially damaging Santa Ana winds.

As of Tuesday morning, the week-old Palisades fire had scorched 23,713 acres and was 17% contained, up from 14% Monday night.

Crews were scrambling to reinforce and maintain containment lines and patrol the burned area to quickly put out hot spots to minimize the chance the fire will escape the perimeter, fire officials said.

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.

But forecasters warned that strong winds are still possible throughout the day 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."

He 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, although 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 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.

Marrone said Tuesday that property damage assessments in the Eaton Fire area were about 30% completed. As of Tuesday morning, 2,722 have been officially reported as destroyed, and 329 damaged.

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.

Pasadena City College also reopened Monday.

The entire Angeles National Forest has been closed for public safety and the protection of natural resources through at least Sunday.

The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens was closed at least through Tuesday.

Palisades fire

Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said the agency had "maximized" its resources in anticipation of the next round of Santa Ana winds, and she credited the fire crews that have traveled from around the country and from Mexico and Canada to help battle the area's fires.

"We are so very grateful for the firefighters and the first responders that have already arrived and continue to arrive in the Southern California region," Crowley said Monday. "We absolutely know we cannot do this on our own."

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 Situtation" 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.

Over the weekend, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's office identified one of the victims as 84-year-old Charles Mortimer, who died at a hospital of acute myocardial infraction and effects of smoke inhalation and thermal injuries.

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 Jan. 7. That number is also expected to rise as more assessments are done in the burn area.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Authorities warned residents near the fire areas that air quality continues to be highly unhealthy. People were urged to suspend the use of leaf blowers, to stay inside with doors and windows closed as much as possible, and to wear masks if they do go outside.

The South Coast AQMD extended a Windblown Dust Advisory until 7 p.m. Wednesday due to high winds in most of L.A. and nearby counties in the South Coast Air Basin. Blowing dust may result in Air Quality Index levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse.

Compounding the wind events, humidity continues to be low, and the region is suffering from an unusually long absence of rainfall. Forecasters said the Palisades area has not experienced any significant rain since last April, and no rain is forecast for the next two weeks.

Most Los Angeles Unified School District campuses reopened Monday, following several days of closures last week due to the fires. Masks were being provided to students and employees, and all open schools will be limited from conducting outdoor and athletics activities.

Some schools in the most severely impacted areas remained closed due to mandatory evacuation orders. Those include Canyon Charter Elementary, Kenter Canyon Charter Elementary, Palisades Charter Elementary, Marquez Charter Elementary, Topanga Charter Elementary, Lanai Road Elementary and Paul Revere Middle School, Roscomare Road Elementary and Community Magnet Charter.

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District stated that all schools in Santa Monica, except Roosevelt Elementary School would be open Monday, while they were closely monitoring weather conditions.

However, schools in Malibu were scheduled to remain closed until Wednesday.

Additional reporting by City News Service.