At least 24 people have died as major wildfires continue to ravage the Los Angeles area in the U.S. state of California, the city’s medical examiner said on Sunday.

No fewer than 16 of the fatalities are related to the Eaton Fire near Pasadena and eight others to the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades district.

There have been several major fires in the region since Tuesday, but these two are the most severe.

Officials fear the death toll may continue to rise since it may take days before emergency services can safely access all areas impacted by the fires.

Firefighters were preparing for gusts to pick up again in the coming days, exacerbating what officials say could be one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history.

The U.S. weather service forecast wind speeds of up to 110 kilometres per hour for Sunday, which, combined with dry vegetation, favours the rapid and unpredictable spread of existing and new fires.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection warned of “critical fire weather” through Wednesday.

“Life-threatening winds and dangerously low humidity are forecast for much of Southern California – from Ventura to San Diego – creating a significant risk of rapid fire spread,” the department wrote on X.

It warned the wind would increase fire activity and urged people to avoid mowing their lawns, parking their vehicles on dry grass, and extinguishing all campfires.

According to Cal Fire officials, some 12,300 buildings have been destroyed or damaged. Since Tuesday, almost 163 square kilometres of land have gone up in flames – a space almost the size of Washington D.C.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, speaking to broadcaster NBC, said the wildfires would be the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, in terms of the “scale and scope,” as well as the costs it has caused.

Mr Newsom went on to sign an executive order to suspend environmental regulations for destroyed homes and businesses temporarily.

“Just issued an Executive Order that will allow victims of the SoCal fires to not get caught up in bureaucratic red tape and quickly rebuild their homes,” he wrote on X.

According to a preliminary estimate by the private U.S weather service AccuWeather, the fires have caused more than $135 billion in damage.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was among the Hollywood actors living in and around areas impacted by the fires.

“Don’t worry about me, or my animals, and certainly not my house,” the film star and former governor of California said, asking fans to think instead of the “heroic firefighters.”

As the fires rage on, attention has increasingly turned to the people fighting them, among them several hundred prisoners being paid a maximum of $10 a day for gruelling work trying to contain the blaze.

Californian authorities say the prisoners have undergone several days of training and are working voluntarily on removing flammable material and creating so-called firebreaks or gaps in vegetation to stop the spread of fire.

They are given another $1 per hour for emergency work. Each day spent working as a rescue worker shortens the prison sentence by two days.

Only inmates who are serving a prison sentence of a maximum of eight years and are not serving time for crimes such as rape or arson may be deployed as helpers.

(dpa/NAN)