Palisades Fire Death Toll Increases As Fire Grows To Over 21,000 Acres

Updated, 7 a.m. Saturday

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA —Firefighters gained more containment over the Palisades Fire overnight into Saturday as the death toll increased to five and the blaze continued its push to the northeast.

As of 6:30 a.m. Saturday, the fire was 11 percent contained at 21,596 acres, according to a Cal Fire update. On Friday, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office said it was conducting five death investigations tied to the blaze and six more from the Eaton Fire in the Altadena and Pasadena areas.

While the wind cooperated with firefighting efforts late Friday night, north-to-northeast winds are expected to gradually increase Saturday, peaking in strength Saturday evening into the overnight hours.

A fire weather watch will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday and will remain in effect through 6 p.m. Sunday night. Moderate to strong Santa Ana winds are likely to return Tuesday and Wednesday, officials said, creating critical fire weather conditions.

The blaze shifted northeast Friday night, menacing Bel Air and the densely populated San Fernando Valley.

The Los Angeles Fire Department extended mandatory evacuation orders to include the Getty Center, parts of Encino and Mandeville Canyon Friday night. Evacuation warnings were extended to Bel Air and in the direction of the Tarzana-Woodland Hills area.

The shift prompted ULCA to advise students to be ready for possible evacuations. It also caused Caltrans to close the Sunset Boulevard, Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica Boulevard and Olympic Boulevard/Pico Boulevard off-ramps from the southbound San Diego (405) Freeway as well as the Getty Center Drive and Skirball Center Drive off-ramps from the northbound and southbound San Diego Freeway.

As the fire raced toward the Encino area Friday night, residents filed out of the evacuation zone, having seen over the past few days just how deadly this blaze is.

At about 7 p.m. Friday, a new mandatory evacuation order was issued from Sunset Boulevard North to the Encino Reservoir, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. This extends from the 405 Freeway West to Mandeville Canyon.

Two evacuation warnings were also added. The first is from Sunset Boulevard to Bellagio Road to Roscomare Road to Mulholland Drive to the 405 Freeway.

The second is from Mulholland Drive / Sepulveda Boulevard to the 405 Freeway to Ventura Boulevard to Louise Ave. These two areas abut the existing mandatory evacuation zones. While no action is required immediately of residents, it is imperative you are prepared to evacuate, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

With the expansion, new evacuation centers have been set up at Van Nuys Sherman Oaks Recreation Center at 14201 Huston St. in Sherman Oaks and Lanark Recreation Center at 21816 Lanark St. in Canoga Park.

SEE ALSO: Palisades Fire Map: See Fire Perimeter, Evacuation Areas Updated

SEE ALSO: 10 Dead, 10K Structures, 35K+ Acres: The Wildfires Burning SoCal

Law-And-Order Crackdown

A curfew has been implemented in the Palisades and Eaton fire mandatory evacuation areas. It's in effect between 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

The curfew order means that no one, aside from first responders, is allowed in the affected areas.

"This curfew will be strictly enforced and is being taken to enhance public safety, protect property and prevent any burglaries," Luna said. "I've given direction that if somebody's caught doing this, they're not going to get cited and released — they're going to get booked."

Violators will be punished with a $1,000 fine or jail time, he said.

Some 210 LAPD officers have been deployed to the Palisades Fire area, LAPD Assistant Chief Dominic Choi said.

Missing Persons Assistance

Officials established a Family Assistance Center at the Cheviot Hills Recreation Center, 2551 Motor Ave.

The center will be open for those who need to report a missing person connected to the Palisades Fire, Choi said.

It will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Meantime, a man remains missing after last being seen in a mountainous area of Malibu on Tuesday, the day the fire broke out.

Dry Hydrants Under Investigation

Following concerns that firefighters lacked resources and dealt with low water pressure to combat the devastating Palisades Fire in the initial stages of the crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom Friday ordered an independent investigation into the matter.

Newsom ordered officials to prepare a comprehensive review examining their preparation and response procedures to ensure available water supply for emergencies, and demanded documents detailing any causes of the loss of water pressure and unavailability of water supplies.

Another False Evacuation Alert

An erroneous 4 a.m. evacuation alert followed another that was sent Friday, spurring panic for a county already on edge. Officials say the mistakes were not human-made — "as these alerts are being issued, they are not being activated or initiated by a person," Kevin McGowan, LA County's emergency management director said.

Insurance Protections

The state insurance commissioner says he has taken several actions to protect victims of the Eaton and Palisades fires, including prohibiting insurers from canceling or declining to renew policies held by people within the fire zones for a year.

"My top priority is to protect all affected people during this crisis and assist in their insurance recovery," Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said at a Friday morning news conference. "My primary concern at this very moment is to ensure that wildfire survivors receive the insurance benefits to which they are entitled as soon as possible."

This is a developing story, check back for updates.