At least 24 people have been killed and thousands of structures have been destroyed by wildfires that have spread throughout the Los Angeles area, authorities said Sunday. On Sunday evening, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner reported that 24 people have died due to the wildfires. The department is still investigating these cases and has confirmed that 10 of the deaths are human remains. 

On Sunday, efforts to take control of the devastating infernos persisted as more Southern California neighbourhoods were at risk from flames and threatening fresh wind advisories. Water and fire retardant were dropped by aircraft on slopes where the Palisades Fire, the most devastating in Los Angeles history, has burned over 23,000 acres, destroying more homes, businesses, and many landmarks. The Palisades Fire, which was 13% contained, spread to the north and east, prompting authorities to warn and order evacuations west of the 405 freeway as the fire threatened areas of Brentwood and Encino. Officials acknowledged that progress had been made but cautioned that strengthening winds could make things harder and increase the danger. 

The Santa Ana winds, which have been fueling the fires for the past week, picked up on Sunday morning in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. They were expected to weaken in the afternoon but would strengthen again Sunday night through Wednesday, with the strongest winds anticipated on Tuesday. According to National Weather Service incident meteorologist Rich Thompson, wind gusts of 35 to 55 mph were possible in the north-northeast. Thompson cautioned that low humidity and dry vegetation will contribute to extremely dangerous fire conditions in addition to the strong winds, which prompted a red flag warning that is in effect until Wednesday. 

"We're not out of the woods yet. We have some very significant fire weather ahead of us," Nancy Ward, director of the California Office of Emergency Services, said during a news conference Sunday afternoon. "We've prepositioned additional engines, fire crews, helicopters, bulldozers, water tenders across all of Southern California ... all poised to assist and support the additional fire threat." The Palisades Fire is one of six fires that started on Tuesday, destroying neighbourhoods and causing severe damage. As of Sunday, three of these six fires were still burning.