Nearly three months after the January wildfires in Los Angeles, investigators discovered human remains in a burned lot on Wednesday in Altadena, Calif., raising the total death toll from the fires to 30.
The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office said a six-person team was sent to Altadena to investigate a report of possible remains. The team later confirmed the remains were human. The discovery came 12 weeks after the Eaton fire broke out on the evening of Jan. 7, burning more than 14,000 acres and destroying more than 9,000 structures.
The remains found on Wednesday raised the death toll of the Eaton fire to 18 people. To the west in Pacific Palisades, 12 people died in the Palisades fire, which burned more than 23,000 acres and destroyed more than 6,000 structures.
With their combined death toll at 30, the two fires make up the second-deadliest wildfire in California history. The Camp fire, which killed 85 people in Northern California in 2018, has the largest death toll in state wildfire history, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Even separately, the Eaton and Palisades fires rank among the deadliest in California. The Palisades fire is the ninth deadliest and the Eaton fire is the fifth deadliest, according to state records.
The death toll from the Eaton and Palisades fires could continue to grow. It was unclear how many people who were reported missing at the time of the fires were still missing. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately provide an updated figure on Thursday.
In the days after the fires, the authorities searched properties with cadaver dogs and rescue workers in the hopes of finding those reported missing. In the weeks since, those searches have shifted into a recovery effort rather than a search-and-rescue operation, sheriff’s officials said.
The medical examiner’s office said it could take “considerable time” to identify the remains found on Wednesday. Investigators could use several methods, including dental records, medical records and DNA from family members related to people who have been reported missing.
While the age of the person whose remains were discovered was unknown, the majority of the victims of the Eaton fire were older than 65. The average age of the victims was 77, with the ages ranging from 32 to 95, according to data from the medical examiner’s office.
Los Angeles County has faced scrutiny over how it handled evacuations, especially of older residents and those with disabilities, during the height of the fires.
This week, the county Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion directing officials to look into developing a registry that could help evacuate residents with disabilities and those who are older and might need assistance in an emergency situation.
Janice Hahn, the county supervisor who wrote the motion, said the county needs to be better positioned to evacuate those who cannot flee on their own.
“In an emergency, our first responders should know who our most vulnerable residents are, where they are, and how to reach them when minutes matter and lives are on the line,” Ms. Hahn said in a statement.
Kathryn Barger, the county supervisor whose district includes Altadena, said she was devastated to learn that the average age of Eaton victims was 77.
“We have a duty to ensure no one is left behind,” Ms. Barger said in a statement.
The cause of the Eaton and Palisades fires remains under investigation. Thousands of residents were displaced immediately after the fires. While many have since found temporary housing, others are still grappling with their next long-term moves, including deciding whether to rebuild their homes or sell the burned lots and move elsewhere.
Jesus Jiménez is a Times reporter covering Southern California. More about Jesus Jiménez
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