by Mick Rhodes | editor@claremont-courier.com

The death toll from the January 7-8 windstorm-fueled wildfires has risen to 24, with several people still unaccounted for as of 1 p.m. Monday. The Palisades Fire has burned 23,713 acres and is 14% contained, and the Eaton Fire in Altadena has consumed 14,117 acres and is at 33% containment.

More strong winds are in the forecast through Wednesday, leaving fire officials on edge and fire conditions severe. The winds are forecast to blow from the northeast, with the strongest gusts up to 70 mph affecting the western San Gabriel Mountains/5 Freeway corridor; the northern San Fernando Valley, and mountain passes in Ventura and northern Los Angeles counties, including Simi Valley, Moorpark, and Santa Paula.

The Eaton Fire in Altadena has left the idyllic foothill community in ruins, with hundreds of century-old homes reduced to smoldering rubble and 14,117 acres burned. It was 33% contained at 1 p.m. Monday.

The Palisades fire has burned 23,714 acres and is just 14% contained at 1 p.m. Monday.

Hurricane-force winds up to 90 mph drove fast-moving firestorms through Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Sylmar, Hollywood, and other Southern California communities January 7 and 8. The fires have since destroyed more than 12,000 structures, among them national landmarks and hundreds of local and regional treasures.

Estimates of fire-related property losses in Southern California have varied wildly over the past 24 hours, from $30 billionto $150 billion. That number is sure to fluctuate — likely upward — in the weeks ahead as the scope of the damage is more accurately quantified.

Some 92,000 people remained under evacuation orders Monday. That figure had been at more than 200,000 at the fires’ peak on January 8.

Homeowners affected by the wildfires may be eligible for property tax relief. More information is at boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/disaster-relief.htm.

The January 7 windstorm downed trees in Claremont on Foothill Boulevard, on College Avenue, Memorial Park, Lewis Park, June Vail Park, and on a handful of other streets. No injuries were reported.