LA County medical examiner confirms at least 11 fire-related deaths
At least 5 people were killed in the Palisades Fire and 6 others in the Eaton Fire, the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner confirmed.
The death toll has gone up from the 10 fire-related deaths the department announced in a statement on Thursday at 9 p.m.
The department said all cases are currently pending identification and legal next of kin notification.
Once that happens, the information will be posted on its website.
Officials said identification could take several weeks since staff isn't able to respond to all death locations due to the fire conditions and safety concerns.
"Please also keep in mind, traditional means of identification such as fingerprinting and visual identification may not be available and will add more time for naming these decedents," said the department.
"The Department of Medical Examiner understands how important it is to identify those lost in the wildfires and is working diligently, while following safety protocols, to provide the information to the next of kin as soon as reasonably possible."