LOS ANGELES – While the official death toll from January’s Palisades and Eaton fires stands at 31, a research paper published Wednesday suggests the actual number of fire-related fatalities is actually much higher — in the hundreds.

The research paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that there were 440 more deaths between Jan. 5 and Feb. 1 in Los Angeles County than would be typically expected. Many of those are likely attributable to the wildfires, which erupted Jan. 7.

The additional deaths are likely attributable to fire-related factors such as lung or heart conditions that were exacerbated by smoke or stress and indirect causes such as disruptions to health systems and mental health impacts, according to the paper.

“Attributing deaths properly

See Full Page