The confirmed death toll from the Los Angeles wildfires doubled Thursday night, from five to 10.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office announced that as of 9 p.m. Thursday, 10 fire-related deaths were under investigation. There is no information yet on the identity or place of death.
Medical examiners have warned that in some cases it could take weeks to identify the dead because of the challenges of accessing bodies and identifying charred bodies in dangerous fire conditions.
“Also remember that traditional identification means such as fingerprinting and visual identification may not be available and will add additional time to naming these deceased persons,” the medical examiner said.
Earlier in the day, officials confirmed five deaths: four from the 13,690-acre Eaton Fire in Altadena and one from the 19,978-acre Palisades Fire. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said victims of the Palisades fire were called to the 15300 block of Friends Street.
“We are deeply saddened to learn that we have lost a member of the Malibu community in the Palisades Fire,” Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart said in a statement. “While the exact identity has not yet been confirmed, Sure, but our hearts are heavy with this tragic news. On behalf of the City of Malibu, I would like to express our deepest condolences to this man’s loved ones as our community grieves with you during this time of unimaginable loss.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said it will take time to get an accurate and complete death toll.
“We are still working in a very unstable and active environment, which means there are still localized fires and gas leaks in some areas,” he said. “So when people ask us about death tolls, we want to include them “That’s available to you, but we have to wait until our personnel can get in there safely and take the right actions.”
