LOS ANGELES—The Santa Ana winds aren’t done provoking the historic Los Angeles fires that have so far claimed at least two dozen lives.
The death count from the fires rose to 24 from 16, officials said Sunday evening, as search and rescue efforts continued.
Winds were expected to pick up late Sunday after a lull that allowed firefighters to make some progress containing fires that California Gov. Gavin Newsom projected will be the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. Santa Ana winds are expected to move in by Monday and remain until Wednesday.
The National Weather Service said wind gusts are expected to reach 45 to 70 miles per hour in certain areas of Los Angeles between the early hours of Tuesday morning and Wednesday afternoon. Such wind speeds can complicate critical aerial water drops.
Some residents displaced by the fires were allowed to return to their homes Sunday afternoon after evacuation orders were lifted for sections of neighborhoods around the Eaton and Palisades blazes . In other areas directly hit by the fire, public officials continued limiting residents’ access, citing the danger of smoldering embers and hazardous gases released in the fires.
Public officials in the Altadena and Pasadena area warned Sunday evening that more power outages could be ahead this week if they shut off circuits to mitigate wildfire risk in the event of dangerous winds.
Students will return to Los Angeles Unified School District campuses across the city Monday and will be encouraged to wear masks on their way to school, and outdoor activities will be limited. Seven of around 800 schools are still affected by mandatory evacuation zones or burn damage.
Relatively low humidity and abundant dry vegetation continue to complicate efforts to knock down flames, particularly in the Pacific Palisades, where firefighters have been struggling with wildfires that threatened the Brentwood neighborhood of West Los Angeles and singed backyards at the base of Mandeville Canyon.
“The fire threat in Los Angeles County [is] very high,” said Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone on Sunday, urging residents to be ready for more evacuations.
Helicopters laid down fire retardant lines near Mandeville Canyon, leaving the mountains painted in shades of red and purple. Crews stationed along the roads are managing hot spots and maintaining containment.
Firefighters near Mandeville Canyon said Sunday morning that blazes threatening homes there are mostly under control. Crews have shifted their focus to home protection and clearing brush along the side of the mountain.
Crews from out-of-town departments have joined the effort, some working 25 to 26 hours straight before rotating out. Private firefighting firms also have been spotted in the area, assisting with home protection. Though most residents have evacuated, occasional signs of life, such as individuals staying behind, are visible in the otherwise empty neighborhoods.
Emergency responders continued search-and-rescue efforts in the hardest-hit communities around Eaton and the Palisades. Displaced residents, some of whom waited hours in lines for a police escort to visit their homes in the Palisades, or what remained of them, were turned away Sunday as officials closed off access.
Authorities continued to crack down on people flouting evacuation orders and defying the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfews in place across most fire-ravaged communities, with nearly 30 arrests.
Downed power lines, broken gas lines, lack of water , unstable structures and still-smoldering hot spots made conditions dangerous for the public, officials said.
Some residents who got to their neighborhoods before access was denied found ash and embers where a home once stood.
“Why didn’t they try to save it,” asked a teary Tatiana Nikolev outside the apartment building she shares with her husband Alexi on Sunset Blvd., just a stone’s throw away from the Pacific Ocean. The three-story Pacific Palisades apartment complex was completely burned, as was Alexi’s Toyota Prius, which was parked on the street and had a tree on its hood.
The Nikolevs were traveling when the fires broke out and saw their home for the first time on Friday morning. Most of the homes surrounding them, including right next door, were seemingly left unscathed by the fire.
“They saved the fire station, they saved Lake Shrine—a well-known self-realization center—and every house but ours,” said Alexi Nikolev.
The Palisades fire, which started nearly a week ago, has burned through more than 23,700 acres and was 13% contained as of Sunday, despite firefighters’ nonstop toiling to take advantage of a weekend break in the winds.
Conditions were slightly more favorable at the Eaton fire in Altadena and Pasadena. Over 14,000 acres have burned, but the fire was 27% contained early Sunday, according to the state fire authority, Cal Fire.
In Altadena, blue skies and relatively clear air clashed with the devastation on the ground. The fire there that started near Eaton Canyon, a popular hiking area, left entire neighborhoods unrecognizable. Block after block of houses was burned to rubble, with rows of brick chimneys as the main guidepost to where one property ended and another began.
The devastation illustrated the randomness of fire. In the midst of fully destroyed homes, a basketball hoop, soccer net and fruit trees looked seemingly untouched. In the distance, some homes closest to the hills improbably remained standing.
In Pasadena, hundreds of volunteers gathered outside the Pasadena Community Job Center to help clean up the streets and distribute water, clothes and other supplies to those affected by the Altadena fire. Teams of cleanup crews carrying rakes and shovels fanned out to help get downed branches and debris off sidewalks and roads. So far, all their work is happening outside the burn area.
More than 12,000 homes, businesses and other buildings may have been damaged or destroyed by the multiple wildfires, officials said. Firefighters have contained the Kenneth and Lidia blazes, which also erupted last week. The Hurst fire was 89% contained Sunday.
State and city officials have faced criticism over preparedness and issues surrounding water reserves. Earlier in the week, 20% of an estimated 1,000 hydrants in the Palisades area ran out of water. undefined undefined The Los Angeles Department of Power and Water said Saturday that all hydrants were “fully operational,” but some lost water pressure “due to unprecedented and extreme water demand to fight the wildfire without aerial support.”
Chief Marrone on Sunday said crews have the resources they will need in the days ahead.
“All of the reports that I’ve received is that the LA County Water system is ready and it will be prepared to assist us,” he said.
Firefighters from elsewhere in the U.S. and Mexico were in California to help the effort. Canada has also sent resources. More than 14,000 personnel were involved in the battle to get the fires under control, Newsom said.
The fires have put productions and awards shows on hold. The Critics Choice Awards ceremony that was scheduled for Sunday, hosted by Chelsea Handler , will take place Jan. 26 and will remain in Santa Monica, said Joey Berlin, chief executive of the association.
Write to Ginger Adams Otis at Ginger.AdamsOtis@wsj.com and Sara Randazzo at sara.randazzo@wsj.com
