California wildfire death toll rises to 27

At least 27 people have died as multiple wildfires, fueled by severe drought conditions and strong winds, rage across the Los Angeles area, reported from ABC News.

Seventeen of the deaths are from the Eaton Fire in Altadena and 10 from the Palisades Fire, according to the medical examiner.

Thousands of firefighters are battling wildfires across 45 square miles of densely populated Los Angeles County. About 82,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders and another 90,000 are under evacuation warnings.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in an update Thursday that 18 people remain missing after the Southern California wildfires.

Overall, autherities received a total of 43 missing persons reports related to the Eaton and Palisades fires. Of those, 12 were located safe.

Of the 31 people who remained unaccounted for, investigators have recovered the remains of 13 of them, according to the sheriff's latest update. That leaves 18 people who are currently missing.

Investigators have been searching structures associated with missing person reports using search and rescue personnel and cadaver dogs, the sheriff's department said.

Since Pacific Palisades spans the jurisdiction of both the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Los Angeles Police Department, it's possible that more people remain missing from LAPD lists.

www.anews.az