The death toll from the Los Angeles fires has risen to 27 as the search for human remains continues and new footage provides a gruesome glimpse into rescue efforts as a raging inferno engulfed entire neighborhoods.
Beloved father Jeff Takeyama became the latest victim to be formally identified by the coroner on Thursday.
He tragically died defending his home and neighborhood during the Palisades fire, as he had done for “every fire before that.”
His grieving family said in one GoFundMe call ‘he worked tirelessly to keep us and our neighbors safe. This time the fire was different and we are devastated.”
Takeyama’s death brings the death toll in the Palisades fire to 10, while the number of fatalities in the nearby Eaton fire rose to 17 on Thursday.
Officials said they have now surveyed about 90 percent of the damage from the Eaton fire, which wiped out the communities of Pasadena and Altadena.
In total, they found 7,555 charred buildings, including 4,356 single-family homes, 77 multi-family buildings and 123 commercial buildings.
Meanwhile, devastating footage shared by the city of Pasadena captures the moment public transit drivers drove head-on into the inferno in an attempt to rescue elderly people living in a retirement village the night of the fires.
Devastating footage from the night of the fires, shared by the city of Pasadena, captures the moment public transit drivers drove head-on into the inferno in an attempt to save elderly people living in a retirement village
“Our transit team drivers faced unimaginable circumstances as they entered evacuation zones to evacuate hundreds of seniors from residential facilities. Some buildings were already on fire,” the city said in a statement alongside the video.
Beloved father Jeff Takeyama became the latest victim to be formally identified by the coroner on Thursday
Officials said they have now surveyed about 90 percent of the damage from the Eaton fire, which wiped out the communities of Pasadena and Altadena. In total, they found 7,555 charred buildings, including 4,356 single-family homes, 77 multi-family buildings and 123 commercial buildings.
“Our transit team drivers faced unimaginable circumstances as they entered evacuation zones to evacuate hundreds of seniors from residential facilities. Some buildings were already on fire,” the city said in a statement alongside the video.
“You may not think of transit drivers when you think of first responders, but that’s exactly what our Pasadena Transit team was Tuesday evening when the Eaton Fire broke out in Pasadena and Altadena.
“These unsung heroes wear Pasadena Transit hats, not capes.”
As the search for human remains continues in the razed neighborhoods, properties also face new dangers: burned slopes at risk of landslides and charred rubble laden with asbestos and other toxins.
Hills have become unstable behind some damaged homes, and a small landslide in Pacific Palisades this week split a home that survived the fires in half.
Mark Pestrella, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, spoke about the risk of landslides Thursday morning.
He said, “A warning to all those residents no matter where you live in LA County: If you have slopes behind your homes or you are on top of a slope, those slopes have become vulnerable.
‘The ground on which your house rests has all become vulnerable due to the events we have experienced, including the wind.
Elderly residents evacuated by aides from a Pasadena nursing home as the Eaton fire approached
Transit teams hired by the city of Pasadena went above and beyond to help vulnerable senior communities
Takeyama tragically died defending his home and neighborhood during the Palisades fire, as he had done for ‘every fire before’
‘There are risks of mud and debris flows even when it’s not raining, so we want people to be very careful.’
More than 80,000 people are still under evacuation orders, with many unsure of what is left of their homes, apartments and belongings.
Every day, dozens of people gather at checkpoints to beg police and soldiers to restrict access to their neighborhoods.
Officials said they understand their frustration but asked residents for patience as hazardous materials teams and cadaver dogs combed the sites block by block.
While some areas have been given access, police said it will be a week or more before many of these people can return.
Authorities have also warned that the scorched communities are now full of asbestos-filled ash and dangerous debris amid the carnage.
The ash may contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful substances.
Anish Mahajan of the LA County Public Health Department said Tuesday, “Ashes aren’t just dirt.”
A Los Angeles home spared during the apocalyptic fires was split in two by a mudslide in the fire’s aftermath
‘It is dangerous particulate matter that can irritate or damage your airways and other parts of your body where it ends up.’
Anyone accessing fire-ravaged communities is urged to wear masks to avoid inhaling the ash.
As firefighters continued to battle the two largest blazes, which killed 27 people and destroyed more than 12,000 structures, heartbroken families and burned-out business owners faced another monumental task: rebuilding what was lost in one of nature’s most devastating disasters in history. History of Southern California.