California weather forecasters have warned that after a weekend of relatively calm winds, the notoriously dry Santa Ana winds would pick up again from Sunday night until Wednesday, reaching speeds of up to 60mph (96km/h).
However, some progress has been made in stopping the spread of the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires, which are burning on opposite ends of the city. Local firefighters are being assisted by crews from eight other states, as well as Canada and Mexico, who continue to arrive.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner updated the death toll on Sunday to 24, while officials said earlier at least another 16 remain missing.
Sixteen of the dead were found in the Eaton fire zone, while eight were found in the Palisades area.
Three conflagrations continue to burn around Los Angeles.
The largest fire is the Palisades, which has now burnt through more than 23,000 acres and is 13% contained.
The Eaton fire is the second biggest and has burnt through more than 14,000 acres. It is 27% contained.
The Hurst fire has grown to 799 acres and has been almost fully contained.
The wildfires are on track to be among the costliest in US history.
On Sunday, private forecaster Accuweather increased its preliminary estimate of financial losses from the blazes to between $250bn-$275bn.
The fires have burned school buildings, too, including Odyssey Charter School in Altadena.
“The community has been devastated by the fire,” said Ordeñana, senior manager of community science at the Natural History Museum.
“It’s been a challenge to carefully share that news with my children and help them work through their emotions. A lot of their friends lost their homes. And we don’t know the impact to school staff, like their teachers, but a lot of them live in that area as well and have lost their homes.”
Some areas untouched by fire were inaccessible because of poor air quality. Griffith Park, home of the Hollywood sign, had not been affected by the end of the week but it’s not clear when the air quality there will be good enough to resume outdoor programs, said Ordeñana, who was the first to capture on camera a late puma in the nearby area that gained fame under the name P-22.
Ordeñana said his family was able to connect with some other families from Odyssey Charter School for pizza and an indoor playdate, but he is uncertain what the days will look like for them with school closures already extending through next week. Associated Press reported.
All schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest, were closed Friday because of heavy smoke and ash over the city. Classes will not resume until conditions improve, officials said. Pasadena Unified School District also closed schools and several of its campuses sustained damage, including Eliot Arts Magnet Middle School.
The California Department of Education released a statement Wednesday saying 335 schools from Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, and San Diego counties were closed. It was unclear how many would be closed Monday.
BBC reported that new fires continued to flare up on Sunday, threatening communities in the San Fernando Valley and near Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
On Sunday, firefighters were able to quickly stop the spread of new fires in the Angeles National Forest, which surround the facility that is at the heart of the US space programme and contains top secret technology.
At least 29 people have been arrested for looting in mandatory evacuation zones. Two people were caught posing as firefighters in order to steal from evacuees.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said in a news conference Sunday he had requested more National Guard troops to bolster the 400 already in the area. California Governor Gavin Newsom has since announced that 1,000 additional members of the National Guard would be deployed.