California authorities have confirmed a new death toll of 16 as wildfires continue to rage around Los Angeles on Sunday. Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing criticism for approving a budget that slashed $100 million in firefighting and fire prevention funding.
The death toll in connection with the wildfires sweeping through Southern California has jumped to 16, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner.
Homicide detectives have still been unable to reach thousands of piles of rubble because of recuperated gas lines and debris, Fox Weather reported.
The LA Department of Water and Power is sticking to its narrative that all hydrants in Pacific Palisades were working just fine before the fires — even though a major reservoir was taken offline beforehand.
“Any assertion that fire hydrants in the Pacific Palisades were broken before the Palisades fire is misleading and false,” the department said in a statement. “L.A. Department of Water & Power was required to take the Santa Ynez Reservoir out of service to meet safe drinking water regulations. To commission the support and resources to implement repairs to Santa Ynez, L.A.D.W.P is subject to the city charter’s competitive bidding process which requires time.”
Now the organization is facing further scrutiny after the county’s $750,000-a-year water chief, Janisse Quinones, said her work is guided by an “equity” lens.
Quinones said in a July interview with KBLA radio that the importance of putting an “equity lens” to the DWP was “the number one thing that attracted me to this role.”
“It’s important to me that everything we do, it’s with an equity lens and social justice and making sure that right the wrongs that we’ve done in the past from an infrastructure perspective, and we involve the community in that process,” she said.
Private drones being flown near the wildfires consuming Los Angeles County continued to interfere with aerial firefighting efforts Saturday evening, according to officials, as the death toll from the flames rises.
Officials have detected 48 privately owned drones flying over the fires since the infernos erupted Tuesday, Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief Robert Harris said during a briefing Saturday evening.
“When those privately owned drones are detected, we have to pause firefighting activities, so we ask you to please assist us by not operating drones in the area,” Harris said, adding that the drones’ owners are being sought by police and will face potential prosecution.
Authorities urge civilians not to fly drones near wildfires because they can get in the way of low-flying firefighting aircraft and delay emergency responders. Pilot distractions can be deadly.
On Thursday, someone flew a private drone into the wing of a Quebec 1 Super Scooper firefighting aircraft as it carried water to battle the wildfires. Officials said the collision caused a “fist-sized hole” in the aircraft and knocked it out of service until at least Monday.
The Super Scooper, which had flown down from Canada, was working to contain the Palisades Fire at the time of the incident. The pilots were unaware of the drone hit, which wasn’t discovered until they landed at Van Nuys airport and maintenance staff noticed the hole, officials said.
The FAA is investigating, and a spokesperson told Fox News Digital that interfering with firefighters is a federal crime punishable by up to a year in prison and a $75,000 fine.
Meanwhile, the death toll in connection with the wildfires has jumped to 16, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner. Five of the deaths were attributed to the Palisades Fire and 11 resulted from the Eaton Fire.
