LOS ANGELES — With the burn area nearly fully contained, final evacuation orders stemming from the deadly Palisades Fire were lifted, allowing residents Tuesday to return to their properties, but another death tied to the fire was confirmed.

The Palisades Fire has scorched 23,448 acres and killed at least 12 people since erupting Jan. 7. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner on Monday reported that the unidentified person, who died in a hospital, is connected with the Palisades Fire, putting the death toll from that blaze at 12. It is the 29th death associated with the Southland wildfires.

As of Friday night, the fire was 100% contained. 

Evacuations

The orders for the final two neighborhoods within the city of Los Angeles portion of the fire area were lifted shortly after noon Monday. Only residents will be permitted into any of the repopulated areas.

Fire officials said residents will no longer need escorts into the area, but they must obtain an access pass by checking in with law enforcement at the Lot 3 Beach Access, 1150 Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica.

County public health officials are distributing personal protective equipment to residents returning to their homes.

Nightly curfew orders remain in effect, barring any unauthorized people from entering the fire areas.

See a map of the evacuation zones to learn whether you can return home.

Santa Monica

Santa Monica officials had previously lifted all evacuation orders within that city, making Pacific Coast Highway accessible for local residents, businesses and patrons.

Access to PCH north of the Santa Monica city limits was being managed by the Los Angeles Police Department.

Evacuation centers

Those displaced can head to one of the following locations:

• Westwood Recreation Center, 1350 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
• Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks Recreation Center, 14201 Huston St., Sherman Oaks
• Lanark Recreation Center, 21816 Lanark St., Canoga Park
• Calvary Community Church, 5495 Via Rocas, Westlake Village
• Ritchie Valens Recreation Center, 10736 Laurel Canyon Blvd.
• Pasadena Convention Center, 300 E. Green St.
• Stoner Recreation Center, 1835 Stoner Ave.
• Pan Pacific Recreation Center, 7600 Beverly Blvd.

Small animals were being taken at the following locations:

• El Camino High School, 5440 Valley Circle Blvd, Woodland Hills
• Agoura Animal Care Center, 29525 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills
• Baldwin Park Animal Care Center, 4275 Elton St., Baldwin Park
• Carson Animal Care Center, 216 W. Victoria St., Gardena
• Castaic Animal Care Center, 31044 Charlie Canyon
• Downey Animal Care Center, 11258 Garfield Ave.
• Lancaster Animal Care Center, 5210 W Ave I
• Palmdale Animal Care Center, 38550 Sierra Highway, Palmdale

Large animals were being taken at the following locations:

• Pomona Fairplex, 101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona
• Industry Hills Expo, 16200 Temple Ave., City of Industry
• LA Equestrian, 480 Riverside Drive Burbank
• Castaic Animal Care Center, 31044 Charlie Canyon
• Pico Rivera Sports Arena, 11003 Sports Arena Drive

The American Red Cross Sheltering Site was also assisting with a mobile animal shelter for small animals only.

Recovering a pet

The city of LA has established a hotline for people to contact if they need help recovering a pet from the fire evacuation area. Pet owners can call 213-270-8155, and they will be prompted to answer questions about the pet, its possible location and its needs. "A care team made of LA Animal Services staff and LAPD officers will receive your request and provide assistance. You will be notified once the care team has visited the property." Anyone who finds a pet, or has lost a pet, can enter information about the animal into the PetCo Love Lost System at http://petcolovelost.org/lost.

Road closures

Malibu Canyon Road was set for closure between Piuma and Francisco Ranch roads through 5 p.m. Monday due to concern about rock and mud slides in the burn scars.

Topanga Canyon Boulevard between Grand View Drive and Pacific Coast Highway remains closed until further notice. PCH is also closed between Coastline and Entrada drives.

Interstate 10 remains closed west of Lincoln Boulevard per the California Highway Patrol until further notice.

As of Wednesday morning, the CHP had the following closures in place:

• Piuma Road at Woodbluff Road
• Malibu Canyon Road at Piuma Road
• Mulholland Highway at Stunt Road
• Topange Canyon Boulevard at Mulholand Drive
• Topanga Canyon Boulevard at Pacific Coast Highway
• Mulholland Drive at Trinidad Road
• Topanga Canyon Boulevard at Entrado Drive
• Coastline Drive at Pacific Coast Highway

Officials said only first responders will be allowed to enter the closure areas.

To learn more about the fire disruptions across SoCal, visit this link.

Parking restrictions

The city of Los Angeles declared that red-flag parking restrictions would go into effect at 8 a.m. Monday and remain in effect until further notice.

Park closures

The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority said it would reopen most of its parks outside of the Santa Monica Mountains. MRCA-managed parks and trails in the Santa Monica Mountains and in the fire evacuation zone, including Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, are still closed until the fire emergency is over.

The closures include Temescal Gateway Park, King Gillette Ranch, all Topanga Canyon Parks, parking lots and beach accessways in and directly adjacent to the city of Malibu including Escondido Canyon Park, Fryman Canyon Park, Wilacre Park, Franklin Canyon Park and Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.

Curfew

A curfew continues to be in effect nightly from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the mandatory evacuation areas in the Palisades and Eaton fire zones. Only firefighters, utility workers and law enforcement personnel are allowed in those areas.

Gov. Gavin Newsom had said he's deploying an additional 1,000 California National Guard members to Los Angeles County to support safety and security efforts in the wildfire areas, bringing the total deployment to approximately 2,500.

On Wednesday night, Newsom also deployed additional California Highway Patrol Special Response Teams to provide ongoing law enforcement capacity to further protect fire damaged communities in Los Angeles.

Two men are facing misdemeanor charges for allegedly violating the emergency wildfire curfew in Pacific Palisades by walking the streets of the fire-ravaged neighborhood before dawn Saturday, officials announced Wednesday.

Ethan Matthew Hayes, 44, and Christopher John Devcich, 45, were allegedly walking in the Palisades at 4:30 a.m. that morning in violation of the curfew order enacted two days earlier, according to LA City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced.

The curfew order seeks to counter crime and looting by prohibiting anyone from being on a public street in any evacuation order or warning zone within Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Malibu, and unincorporated areas of LA County.

Violators face fines of up to $1,000 and/or up to six months in jail.

Arrests

The sheriff's department and other law enforcement agencies have reported dozens of arrests for alleged looting, burglaries and curfew violations since the fires in ignited in Altadena and the Palisades, the latter of which started around 10:30 a.m. Jan. 7 in the area of Piedra Morada and Monte Hermoso drives as the area was under a red flag warning for critical fire danger due to a historic wind event that saw gusts of 80 to 100 mph.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna reported Thursday that 47 people had been arrested in fire areas patrolled by the sheriff's department — 36 in Eaton Fire area, and 11 in the Palisades Fire area.

McDonnell said Tuesday the LAPD had made 14 arrests in areas it patrols.

The arrests by both agencies included a variety of offenses, including curfew violations, burglary, drug and weapon possession, DUI, vandalism and ammunition possession. McDonnell said one person was arrested for suspicion of impersonating a police officer, and another for suspicion of impersonating a firefighter.

Luna said another person was arrested Tuesday night near the Palisades fire for impersonating a firefighter.

Luna told KNX News Friday morning that California Highway Patrol officers arrested two people who were using fake media credentials to try to access the burn area.

The Santa Monica Police Department, which implemented mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders in the northern part of the city, announced that it has made roughly 40 arrests.

Weather conditions

Much of the Los Angeles area will be under a red flag warning of critical fire danger until 10 a.m. Friday thanks to continued gusty winds and extremely low humidity.

Service outages

Southern California Gas Co. had shut off service to about 13,600 customers in the Palisades Fire area for safety reasons, but the utility reported Tuesday that it has restored service for 5,316 of those customers.

The Gas Co. has established an information booth for residents that will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Pavilions store at 29211 Heathercliff Road in Malibu, and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at UCLA Research Park West, 10850 W Pico Blvd., to provide information for customers.

To check a power outage status or if your area is under a power shutoff due to heightened wildfire risk, visit the SoCal Edison website.

School closures

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District announced its four Malibu schools would be closed Monday due to dangerous road conditions and challenges with access to schools. Those schools are Malibu and Webster elementary schools, Malibu Middle School and Malibu High School.

Santa Monica schools remain open.

LAUSD school reopened last week.

Some schools in the highest impact areas remained closed due to mandatory evacuation orders, including:

• Canyon Charter Elementary
• Kenter Canyon Charter Elementary
• Palisades Charter Elementary
• Marquez Charter Elementary
• Topanga Charter Elementary
• Lanai Road Elementary
• Paul Revere Middle School

The schools will reopen as soon as the conditions allow, at which time, the district will notify families. 

The district said they were closely monitoring Roscomare Road Elementary and Community Magnet Charter, which are currently in an evacuation warning zone. 

For more on the school closures, visit the lausd.org website.

To learn more about fire disruptions across SoCal, visit this link.

Injuries and fatalities

The Los Angeles County Office of Medical Examiner has positively identified 18 of the 29 people confirmed dead in the Palisades and Eaton wildfires.

The list can be found here. 

Last week, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said there are 31 missing person cases in the Palisades and Eaton fires. There are 24 reported missing in the Eaton Fire and seven in the Palisades Fire.

The LA County Medical Examiner's office has identified one victim as an 80-year-old man, who died at a local hospital. His identity was withheld pending notification of kin.

On Jan. 9, representatives of the LA County Office of Medical Examiner removed remains from the ruins of a home in the vicinity of Duke's restaurant in Malibu. Officials from the sheriff's department told reporters at the scene that deputies received a missing person report, prompting them to conduct a welfare check at the burned-out home, where the remains were discovered.

Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart issued a statement saying the "tragic news weighs heavily on our hearts."

"This is a painful reminder of the profound impact this fire is having on our community," Stewart said. "Malibu is more than a city — we are neighbors, friends and family. Even when we don't know someone's name, their loss is felt by all of us. In times like this, we must come together, support one another and show the resilience that defines our community."

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said another death occurred at a home in the 15300 block of Friends Street in Pacific Palisades. He said police and the medical examiner responded to the scene, and determined the death was "fire-related." No other details were released.

LA County Fire Department Chief Anthony Marrone said there were a "high number of significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate, in addition to first responders who were on the fire lines."

Those looking for someone impacted by any of the fires in LA County were asked to contact the Red Cross at 800-675-5799.

Las week, LAFD Capt. Erik Scott said a 25-year-old female firefighter suffered a serious head injury while fighting the Palisades Fire and was taken to a hospital. The circumstances of the injury were unknown.

Several other people were treated for burn injuries in the area of Duke's restaurant along Pacific Coast Highway, Scott said. It was also unclear how those injuries occurred, or how many people were affected.

Health notices

The South Coast AQMD extended a Windblown Dust Advisory until 7 p.m. Wednesday due to high winds in most of Los Angeles 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.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health declared a Local Health Emergency in response to the wildfires in the area and resulting poor air quality.

The department also issued a public health order that bars the use of power air blowers, including leaf blowers, until further notice. The order applies to all areas of Los Angeles County.

Aid

On Thursday, Bass announced she is extending the deadline for businesses impacted by the fires to file their city business taxes. "It's the right thing to do — that's how we will rebuild LA Strong," her post on X read.

Newsom on Thursday suspended penalties and interest on late property tax payments for a year, effectively extending the state property tax deadline, for those living in communities impacted by the LA firestorms.

Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will be present at the following Los Angeles County libraries between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday and Monday to assist residents impacted by the wildfires:

• La Cañada Flintridge Library: 4545 N. Oakwood Ave., 818-790-3330
• La Crescenta Library: 2809 Foothill Blvd., 818-248-5313
• Live Oak Library: 22 W. Live Oak Ave., Arcadia, 626-446-8803
• San Fernando Library: 217 N. Maclay Ave., 818-365-6928
• San Gabriel Library: 500 S. Del Mar Ave., 626-287-0761
• Temple City Library: 5939 Golden West Ave., 626-285-2136
• West Hollywood Library: 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., 310-652-5340
• Alhambra Civic Center Library, 101 S. First St.

Residents affected by any of the fires may apply for disaster assistance by visiting disasterassistance.gov. A full list of FEMA resources is available at FEMA.gov/disaster/4856.

LA County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger signed an emergency proclamation in response to the fire, and the city of Los Angeles also issued an emergency declaration. Newsom later signed a state of emergency proclamation.

Newsom, noting that President Joe Biden was in the LA area when the fire erupted, said Biden had given immediate approval to federal funding to help cover costs of the firefighting effort. Biden announced Thursday that the emergency funding, which normally covers 75% of costs relating to firefighting and recovery efforts, will cover 100% of the costs for 180 days.

Structure damage

At least 5,000 structures are believed to have been destroyed or damaged in the blaze that has been burning since Jan. 7. As of Friday morning, a total of 3,501 structures had been confirmed destroyed, and 603 damaged.

Video from the fire line earlier in the week showed structures burning on the campus of Palisades Charter High School, which was closed this week. Theatre Palisades on Temescal Canyon Road — near the high school — was completely engulfed in flames. At least two elementary schools were also believed to have burned.

Iconic eateries in the area such as the Reel Inn and Cholada Thai were also destroyed.

Fire background

The Palisades Fire was reported around 10:30 a.m. Jan. 7 in the area of Piedra Morada and Monte Hermoso drives, according to LA Fire Department spokesman David Ortiz. It continued to grow exponentially thanks to heavy fuel loads and powerful Santa Ana winds.

Video from the fire zone painted pictures of total devastation, with flames jumping from home to home, structure to structure throughout the Palisades area.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. It erupted amid fierce Santa Ana winds that forecasters called the worst windstorm in the Southland in a decade. 

President Donald Trump visited Pacific Palisades on Friday, touring a neighborhood with representatives of the Los Angeles Fire Department and three area residents and vowing to "open the coffers" of the federal government and waive federal permits to expedite the rebuilding process.

"I don't think you can realize how rough it is, how devastating it is until you see it," Trump said of the fire damage during a sometimes contentious public briefing with local officials. "I didn't realize. I saw a lot of bad things on television, but the extent of it, the size of it. We flew over it ... it is devastation. It's incredible, it's really an incineration. Even some of the chimneys came down. When you have chimneys come down you know that's pretty hot stuff and a lot of them were down."

Trump assured them that "the federal government is standing behind you 100%." He noted that the fires are "already the most expensive natural disaster, they say, in American history. That's pretty amazing."

Trump vowed to "essentially waive all federal permits," noting that the permitting process can often hold up projects for 10 years, and he asked local authorities for assurances that local permitting also be expedited or waived — something LA Mayor Karen Bass assured Trump was already being done.