California Wildfires: FOX 2 reporter sees LA destruction first hand
LOS ANGELES (FOX 2) - The massive fires in Los Angeles have left destruction as far as the eye can see.
Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to evacuate from their homes. As of Sunday night, the combined death toll from both fires stands at 24.
Local perspective:
FOX 2's Jessica Dupnack went to LA, helping sister station FOX 11 Los Angeles to cover the fires that have been raging for an entire week.
"I landed at 1 a.m. So seeing this in person is a lot different than just seeing it on TV and really just the scope of everything and what needs to be rebuilt," Dupnack said.
Just as firefighters make progress on containing the fires, more concerns about the Santa Ana winds again gusting, and FOX 2 is getting a firsthand account of what seems like a disaster that just won't end.
"You talk about the winds today that could potentially spark even more fires. I think people are kind of like, okay, what's around the corner - we're not totally out of the woods yet," she said.
Dupnack reported from Altadena where the Eaton Fire has ravaged entire communities.
"Every direction that I look right now - it's rubble - there is literally melted metal running down the street. The search and rescue efforts continue out here as well - for the Eaton Fire there's still 18 people that are still missing," she said.
She is not the only FOX 2 Detroit journalist heading west to help. FOX 2 Assistant News Director Sean Lee has been there since last week.
"I've got a couple things here - I've got Jessica's fire gear which I'm going to give her in a little bit," she said.
She's been helping our sister station deliver critical information - they've been on the air almost non-stop for a week.
"It's not only informing people and keeping them up to date on the fire - like literally the information we're providing here is saving people's lives - they need to know if their home is in the evacuation zone," she said.
As firefighters from across the state and the country converge to fight the fires that have now claimed at least 24 lives and tens of thousands of structures - homes, schools, churches - and so much more, as so many try to help.
"I think right now for the Eaton Fire there's 3,500 crews and they're all staged at the Rose Bowl. I drove up there today, and as far as the eye can see, there's firefighters," Dupnack said.
"It feels like the good and the concern and the donations and all those things - it weighs out some of the heartache and negativity," said Lee.
What they're saying:
Below is a breakdown of the evacuation zones for both the Palisades and Eaton fires.
Palisades Fire
Latest update as of Tuesday, Jan. 14:
23,713 acres, 17% containment
Eight deaths have been reported from the Palisades Fire.
Roughly 5,000 structures are believed to have been destroyed or damaged.
Over 5,000 fire personnel are assigned to the fire. Firefighters from Mexico, Canada, and several other states came to LA to help in the firefight.
Eaton Fire
Latest update as of Tuesday, Jan. 14:
14,117 acres, 35% containment
Sixteen deaths have been reported in the Eaton Fire. Roughly 7,000 structures were damaged and/or destroyed.
Arrests made:
More than 40 suspects have been arrested within Santa Monica evacuation zones just within the past week, according to police.
Authorities said all the suspects arrested were in violation of local emergency orders and for violating the city and county curfew orders from Jan. 7 through Jan. 12.
The Source: FOX 2's Jessica Dupnack and the FOX 11 team out in LA.