At least 27 people are believed to be dead and more than a dozen others remain unaccounted for as multiple wildfires rage across Southern California.

Residents warned to ‘stay on guard’ amid wind gusts as LAPD bust arson and looting suspects - Palisades and Eaton fires continue to rage through southern California as the death toll reaches 25

The cause of the wildfires that have killed at least five people is under investigation as the firestorm ravages Los Angeles County, ravaging over 1,100 homes and other

The most serious red flag fire weather warning has been issued by the NWS for swaths of L.A. and Ventura counties starting before dawn Tuesday.

Fires across the Los Angeles area have killed at least 24 people and destroyed more than 12,000 structures, officials said, scorching more than 60 square miles and displacing tens of thousands of people.

Luna said they are actively searching for 23 adults, 17 of whom have gone missing in the Eaton Fire, which ravaged the Angeles National Forest and Altadena area of Los Angeles County and Pasadena. Six others are still missing in Malibu, the sheriff said.

The California fires could get worse again this week as high winds threaten the Los Angeles region where wildfires have already burned 40,000 acres.

Two people were arrested for arson in separate incidents just outside the fire zone on Wednesday, according to the LAPD. In one incident, a citizen extinguished a fire in a tree and detained an arson suspect, police said. That suspect admitted to starting the fire because he "liked the smell of burning leaves," police said.

Instead, officers arrested him on a felony probation charge, a LAPD spokesperson told USA TODAY by phone. Police have not identified the person or said what the probation violation was connected to.

A Washington Post analysis found that the Palisades fire started in the area where firefighters had spent hours using helicopters to knock down a blaze six days earlier, raising the possibility that the New Year’s Eve fire was reignited, which can occur in windy conditions.

"Apparently LAPD are looking for three 'persons of ... The LA branch of the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning on Jan. 6, one day before the initial fires broke out.

Containment of the deadly Palisades Fire rose to 43% with firefighters catching a break from the weather thanks to low clouds and good humidity.