Historic, deadly Palisades Fire surpasses 20,000 acres

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) - The Palisades Fire, the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history, continued to spread with improved containment on Friday.

As of 8 a.m., incident commanders said the blaze had scorched 20,438 acres in the Pacific Palisades, Malibu and elsewhere in the Santa Monica Mountains. Containment expanded from 6% to 8%.

The fire erupted Tuesday morning and, fanned by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds, quickly ripped through residential and commercial areas.

More than 5,000 structures have been lost, many of them homes and businesses.

Damage is believed to be in the tens of billions of dollars.

Tens of thousands of people remain under evacuation orders or warnings. The evacuation order extended throughout the Pacific Palisades to the Pacific Ocean and included areas of Santa Monica, Malibu and Topanga. Residents and businesses in Calabasas remained under an evacuation warning on Friday.

The cause remains under investigation.

Fire crews finally managed to make progress in the fight against the Palisades Fire on Thursday as the strongest of the Santa Ana winds began to subside, allowing for increased aerial attacks to aid the 3,000 firefighting personnel on the ground.

At least 10 people have been killed in Southern California in both the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire in Altadena and Pasadena.

Of those 10, two are confirmed to have died from the Palisades fire, including one person that was found in the rubble of a burnt building in Malibu.

A man was arrested on suspicion of arson near Woodland Hills on Thursday afternoon as another wildfire, the Kenneth Fire, erupted near homes north of the 101 Freeway. He was taken into custody after residents saw the man allegedly attempting to ignite a fire.

As for the future firefighting operations and the potential for more wildfires, Cal Fire issued this ominous warning:

"The Palisades Fire continues to exhibit wind-driven and topographic runs upslope. Short-range spotting is still observed," Cal Fire said in a bulletin. "On Saturday, typical mid-January conditions are expected. Sunday and continuing through the middle of next week, weak to moderate Santa Ana winds are expected. There is a chance of strong winds Tuesday. There will continue to be a high likelihood of critical fire weather conditions through next week."