Residents warned to ‘stay on guard’ amid wind gusts as LAPD bust arson and looting suspects - Palisades and Eaton fires continue to rage through southern California as the death toll reaches 25

The cause of the wildfires that have killed at least five people is under investigation as the firestorm ravages Los Angeles County, ravaging over 1,100 homes and other

Fires across the Los Angeles area have killed at least 24 people and destroyed more than 12,000 structures, officials said, scorching more than 60 square miles and displacing tens of thousands of people.

The most serious red flag fire weather warning has been issued by the NWS for swaths of L.A. and Ventura counties starting before dawn Tuesday.

The LA wildfires risk spreading as extreme winds pick up speed. More than 92,000 people are under evacuation orders, California officials warned.

Luna said they are actively searching for 23 adults, 17 of whom have gone missing in the Eaton Fire, which ravaged the Angeles National Forest and Altadena area of Los Angeles County and Pasadena. Six others are still missing in Malibu, the sheriff said.

A Washington Post analysis found that the Palisades fire started in the area where firefighters had spent hours using helicopters to knock down a blaze six days earlier, raising the possibility that the New Year’s Eve fire was reignited, which can occur in windy conditions.

Instead, officers arrested him on a felony probation charge, a LAPD spokesperson told USA TODAY by phone. Police have not identified the person or said what the probation violation was connected to.

An Associated Press analysis of emergency communications shows that the first evacuation order covering neighborhoods closest to the start of the devastating Pacific Palisades wildfire didn’t come until about 40 minutes after some of those homes were already burning.

While firefighters begin containing the Los Angeles wildfires, the land left behind is at a higher risk of floods and debris flows.

The windy, flame-fanning weather that put the nation's second most-populous metropolitan region on edge eased up Wednesday as firefighters made significant gains against the two massive wildfires burning around Los Angeles.