The death toll of the devastating Los Angeles fires has grown to 27 as the search for human remains continues and new footage shares a horrifying insight into rescue efforts as an inferno tore through entire neighborhoods.
Beloved father Jeff Takeyama was the latest victim formally identified by the coroner on Thursday.
He tragically died defending his home and neighborhood in the Palisades fire, as he had done for ‘every fire before this one.’
His grieving family said ‘he worked tirelessly to keep us and our neighbors safe. This time, the fire was different, and we are heartbroken beyond words.’
Takeyama’s death brings the death toll in the Palisades fire to 10, while fatalities in the nearby Eaton fire climbed to 17 on Thursday.
Officials said they’ve now inspected about 90 per cent of the damage from the Eaton fire, which wiped out the communities of Pasadena and Altadena.
In total, they’ve found 7,555 charred structures, including 4,356 single family homes, 77 multi-family buildings and 123 commercial buildings.
Devastating footage from the night of the fires and shared by the City of Pasadena captures the moment transit drivers drove head-on into the inferno in an effort to save elderly people living in a retirement village.
Devastating footage from the night of the fires and shared by the City of Pasadena captures the moment transit drivers drove head-on into the inferno in an effort to save elderly people living in a retirement village
‘Our transit team drivers faced unimaginable conditions as they drove into evacuation zones to evacuate hundreds of seniors from living facilities, some buildings were already on fire,’ the city said in a statement alongside the video
Beloved father Jeff Takeyama was the latest victim formally identified by the coroner on Thursday
Officials said they’ve now inspected about 90 per cent of the damage from the Eaton fire, which wiped out the communities of Pasadena and Altadena. In total, they’ve found 7,555 charred structures, including 4,356 single family homes, 77 multi-family buildings and 123 commercial buildings
‘Our transit team drivers faced unimaginable conditions as they drove into evacuation zones to evacuate hundreds of seniors from living facilities, some buildings were already on fire,’ the city said in a statement alongside the video.
‘You may not think of transit drivers when you think of first responders, but that’s exactly what our Pasadena Transit team was on Tuesday night as the Eaton Fire broke out in Pasadena and Altadena.
‘These unsung heroes wear Pasadena Transit hats, not capes.’
As the search continues for human remains in the leveled neighborhoods, properties also face new dangers with burned slopes at risk of landslides and the charred debris laden with asbestos and other toxins.
Hillsides have become unstable behind some damaged homes, and a small landslide in Pacific Palisades this week split one home which survived the fires in two.
Mark Pestrella, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, spoke of the risk of landslides on Thursday morning.
He said: ‘A warning to all those residents no matter where you live in LA County: if you have slopes behind your homes or if you’re located on top of a slope, these slopes have become fragile.
‘The soil supporting your home has all become fragile due to the events we’ve had, winds included.
Elderly persons evacuated by aides from a care home in Pasadena as the Eaton fire approached
Transit teams hired by the city of Pasadena went above and beyond to help vulnerable elderly communities
Takeyama tragically died defending his home and neighborhood in the Palisades fire, as he had done for ‘every fire before this one’
‘There are mud and debris flow hazards that are existing even when it’s not raining so we want people to be very careful.’
More than 80,000 people are still under evacuation orders, and many do not know what, if anything, is left of their houses, apartments and possessions.
Scores of people gather at checkpoints each day to plead with police and soldiers restricting access to their neighborhoods.
Officials said they understand their frustration, but they asked residents for patience as hazardous materials teams and cadaver dogs comb the sites block by block.
While some areas have been granted entry, police said said it will be a week or more before many of these people can go back.
Authorities have also warned scorched communities are now rife with asbestos-filled ash and dangerous debris in amongst the carnage.
The ash can contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials.
Anish Mahajan of the LA County Public Health Department said on Tuesday: ‘Ash is not just dirt.’
A home in Los Angeles which was spared during the apocalyptic fires was split in two by a mudslide in the aftermath of the blaze
‘It’s hazardous fine dust that can irritate or harm your respiratory system and other parts of your body where it lands.’
Anyone with access to fire-ravaged communities are urged to wear masks to avoid inhaling the ash.
As firefighters continued to battle the two largest fires, which have killed 27 people and destroyed more than 12,000 structures, heartbroken families and burned-out business owners began to confront another monumental task: rebuilding what was lost in one of the most devastating natural disasters in Southern California history.
