As firefighters continue to battle the Palisades Fire, many residents are wondering when they can return to their homes.
Several residents told Eyewitness News people waited more than four hours just to see if they can get into the area.
During a press conference Sunday morning, city and county officials issued an update on both the Palisades and Eaton fires, saying the areas near the fires are simply just not safe enough to allow residents to return.
LAPD Chief McDonnell said during the early stages of the evacuation process, officers allowed some people to get through fire zones with the help of an LAPD escort. That is changing. McDonnell said they'll no longer be offering that service, effective immediately.
"I'd like to express and explain the why ... why our residents are not allowed to come back into that area," said Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley. "There are still active fires that are burning within the Palisades area, making it extremely, extremely dangerous for the public. There's no power, there's no water, there's broken gas lines, and we have unstable structures. The first responders are working as quickly as possible to ensure that it is safe for you to return into your communities."
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna echoed that message, urging residents to follow all evacuation warnings and orders.
As firefighters continue to battle the Palisades Fire, many residents are wondering when they can return to their homes.
"I just want to remind everybody, if you are asked to leave and you're in an evacuation order area, your life is in danger," said Luna. "You need to leave. I know, and it's been stated already, a lot of our residents are trying to get back, and they're frustrated."
Luna said he stopped by several checkpoints in Altadena and Malibu where he met with residents hoping to be let in, but he wants to make it clear that it's just not safe yet.
"I'm just going to say this, in driving around some of these areas, they literally look like war zones," he said. "There are downed power poles, electric wires. There are still some smoldering fires. It is not safe. The minute it is safe, we understand the inconvenience, and every conversation we're having about evacuations, that depopulation conversation, is continuously coming up. We do care. We want to get you back into your homes, but we can't allow that until it is safe for you to do so."
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said that during the early stages of the evacuation process, his department allowed limited access to certain areas, meaning some people were able to get through fire zones with the help of an LAPD escort.
This allowed some people to grab any necessary medications or even their pets.
That, however, is changing. McDonnell said they'll no longer be offering that service, saying "the numbers became overwhelming."
"There was frustration, there were long waits to be able to do it and we still try to facilitate it although we weren't able to do that for everyone," he said.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said that during the early stages of the evacuation process, his department allowed limited access to certain areas, meaning some people were able to get through fire zones with the help of an LAPD escort. That, however, is not happening anymore.
