Searches Continue for Nearly Two Dozen Missing in the L.A. Fires

At least 23 people were still missing in the Palisades and Eaton fires on Monday, nearly a week after deadly fires broke out across Los Angeles.

Officials have said as many as 24 people have been reported dead, and more than 100,000 people have been displaced.

As of Monday morning, the official number of missing persons included 17 in the area of the Eaton fire near Pasadena and six in the Malibu area, near the Palisades fire.

“That number is expected to fluctuate as we get more information,” Nicole Nishida, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles sheriff’s office, said in an email. The sheriff’s office did not cite specific numbers of people who are reporting their loved ones missing. But, Ms. Nishida added, “unfortunately, the number increases every day.”

People are also searching for loved ones online.

Among them were the friends of Kim Winiecki, a 77-year-old Altadena resident who had not been seen or heard from since the Eaton fire erupted. After days of sharing posts, and increasingly losing hope, Ms. Winiecki’s friends learned on Monday that she had died in her home, according to Jeannette McMahon, a friend who lived six minutes away.

Ms. Winiecki had moved to the area about 35 years ago, Ms. McMahon said. “Her home was her security. Her everything,” she said.

Officials have warned that the number of missing people and the death toll could rise further. In addition to those reported missing to the Sheriff’s Department, the American Red Cross said over the weekend that it had received almost 400 family reunification requests through online form submissions and phone calls.

The organization added that roughly 900 people impacted by the fires have sought refuge in one of the Red Cross shelters in Los Angeles.

Officials are still searching thousands of structures that have been damaged or destroyed in the fires, including with cadaver dogs, and are continuing to find remains, Robert Luna, the Los Angeles County sheriff, said during a news conference on Monday.

That is also partly why many people are not yet able to return to survey their homes inside the mandatory evacuation zones, Mr. Luna said, saying: “We have people literally looking for the remains of your neighbors.”