Eaton, Palisades fires continue burning as new wildfires erupts

Some are questioning why the Santa Ynez reservoir, located in the Palisades Highlands, was offline during the firefight.

The reservoir has a capacity of holding 117 million gallons of water.

Some are questioning why the Santa Ynez Reservoir, located in the Palisades Highlands, was offline during the Palisades Fire firefight.

It was closed for repairs to its cover, so it could not be used to help battle the flames though it's located right in the middle of the Palisades.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has directed an independent investigation into reports of loss of water pressure to fire hydrants and the unavailability of water supplies from the reservoir.

A former LADWP official told ABC News that access to the reservoir may have helped early on in the firefight, but it would not have been enough to fight the fire.

"It could have made some difference in supporting the pressure loss early on, but it would not have lasted the whole fire," Martin Adams, who recently retired after 40 years of working at LADWP, most recently as General Manager, told ABC News.

"It might have helped for a little bit, but it wouldn't have been the be-all end-all," Adams said.

ABC News contributed to this report.

Los Angeles Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said the current red flag warning will expire at 6 p.m. Pacific on Friday but a new warning is expected to be issued Monday, when windy conditions in the Los Angeles area are forecast to return.

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."

Firefighters from Mexico are en route to the Eaton Fire, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday.

They will be joining more than 10,000 personnel already on the ground battling the fires.

"California is deeply grateful for President [Claudia Sheinbaum's] support as we work to suppress the Los Angeles wildfires," said Gov. Newsom on X. "Our partnership and shared commitment to helping communities in need is greatly valued."

As of 2:50 p.m., the Eaton Fire had burned 13,690 acres and was at 3% containment. At least 3 deaths have been reported in relation to this fire. More than 7,000 structures have burned.