Los Angeles, 25 dead in fires. Still warning about strong winds

 The death toll from the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles has risen to 25, according to the Los Angeles Times, which noted that eight people have died in the Palisades blaze and 17 in the Eaton fire in Altadena, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner and Sheriff Robert Luna.

The winds

And while firefighters continue to battle the flames, the National Weather Service has warned that the weather will be "particularly dangerous" today, when wind gusts could reach 105 kilometers per hour. Much of Southern California, near Los Angeles, will be subject to fire risk through tomorrow, including the densely populated areas of Thousand Oaks, Northridge and Simi Valley.

The evacuees

The evacuees' return home will not be a matter of days. This was stated by the head of the Californian metropolis' fire department, Kristin Crowley, as reported by CNN. The goal, she assured, is to have the evacuees return to their homes as soon as it is safe to do so. "I will tell you and I will guarantee you that when it is safe to do so, we will allow the population to return: that is the priority. But equally important is the safety of those individuals," she explained, emphasizing that "days" will not be enough for their return home.

"It will not take days," she explained. "We will do it as quickly as possible, but it has to be safe."

The looters

Nine people have ended up in the sights of the Los Angeles justice system for having looted some homes in the areas devastated by the Palisades and Eaton fires, while a man is under investigation because he is accused of having intentionally started a fire in an Azusa park during the firestorm of last week. It is therefore a tough fight by the prosecutor's office against the looters who have been unleashed in these last days taking advantage of the evacuation from their homes of almost one hundred thousand people.

Three men are on trial for stealing $200,000 worth of items from a Mandeville Canyon home early Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reports, while another group is accused of stealing personal property, including an Emmy Award, from an Altadena home during the Eaton Fire. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement that he hopes will serve as a deterrent: "Let me be clear: If you use this tragedy to prey on the victims of these deadly fires, we will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law," he said.

Actress among the victims

Retired actress Dalyce Curry, best known for her role in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers, has died in the Los Angeles fires at the age of 95.

The woman's remains were found days after the Altadena fire razed her property in the city. The actress's death was announced on Facebook by her great-niece, Dalyce Kelley.

According to media reports, Kelley drove her grandmother, known as “Momma D,” home around midnight Tuesday night, unaware of the devastation that awaited her. By the next morning, the house was completely burned down.

In addition to the John Landis-directed musical comedy starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, Curry has also appeared in films such as The 10 Commandments and Lady Sings the Blues.

Biggest Jackpot Winner

A luxury home of the winner of the biggest American jackpot ever is among the homes destroyed by the Los Angeles fires. Edwin Castro, the Altadena resident who won the record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot in 2023 — worth about $1 billion after taxes — used part of his winnings to buy homes in upscale neighborhoods in Los Angeles County and lost at least one of those properties to the fires.