LOS ANGELES — An unprecedented four-day fire siege that damaged or destroyed more than 12,000 structures and killed at least 11 people showed signs of finally easing Friday as winds lessened and firefighters began to contain the infernos.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said crews were in their best position yet to get a handle on the blazes — though still with a long way to go. The Palisades fire was 8% contained and the Eaton fire was 3% contained as of Friday afternoon, according to fire officials.

In addition to better weather, the fight has been aided by a stream of firefighting help from far and wide and the ability to use water-dropping aircraft, which were grounded by high winds during the first day of the fires.

Despite the progress, officials warn of much more pain and anguish ahead.

It is expected to take some time to determine the death toll from this week’s Los Angeles firestorms. Officials confirmed five people were killed in the Palisades fire and six in the Eaton fire, but L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said those numbers are likely to rise.

“We do, unfortunately, anticipate that deaths will go up because of the destruction that we’re seeing,” Luna said. “We’re not able to get in there in a manner — because it’s still not safe — to really do a thorough search.”

On Friday, the Los Angeles County medical examiner identified one of the victims as Victor Shaw, of Altadena. Officials said Shaw, 66, died of smoke inhalation and had suffered burn injuries.

Shaw was first identified by his sister, Shari Shaw, who told the Los Angeles Times that she and a neighbor found her brother on the walkway outside the front door of his house with a hose in his hand.

The identities of the other victims have not been released, but a list provided by the medical examiner’s office includes streets where families suspect their relatives may have died.

Among them is 83-year-old Erliene Kelley, whose home in the 3200 block of Tonia Avenue in Altadena burned down. Briana Navarro, 33, said her grandmother refused to evacuate.

She said her brother learned from police Thursday evening that her grandmother’s body had been discovered in the charred rubble that was once her home.

“My heart sank,” Navarro said, upon learning of her grandmother’s death.

The fires devastated huge swaths of Pacific Palisades and Altadena, where entire neighborhoods have been overwhelmed by the flames. More than 5,000 homes, businesses and other structures have been damaged in the Palisades fire and 7,000 in the Eaton fire.

Luna said his deputies are still dealing with downed wires that are charged, leaking gas pipes and ongoing fires that hinder searches.

“I think we’re still trying to grasp ... how tragic this is. We don’t know half of it,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of tragedy in my 40 years doing this job, but this one is — it’s gonna be up there.”

More than 150,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders across Los Angeles County. Some who have returned to fire zones have found little left of their homes. Air quality remains poor across large sections of the Los Angeles region and, on Friday, officials warned residents in Pacific Palisades not to drink tap water because of the risk of fire-related contaminants.

Gov. Gavin Newsom surveyed the damage in Altadena, describing the scene of elementary schools, community centers and churches “torn asunder.”

“Today we’re going to make a lot of progress,” Newsom said Friday. “The reality of this is starting to come into clarity as smoke begins to move, and daylight — people are starting to understand the magnitude.”

It is not clear how many people have been reported missing from the two major fires. A firefighter who was injured in a fall working on the Eaton fire Thursday was hospitalized and is expected to fully recover, officials said Friday.

On Friday, Antoinette Younger and her neighbor, Sarah Yell, embraced near the roadblock where the California National Guard and police positioned themselves between a group of Altadena residents and their homes.

Younger and Yell knew from video footage their homes were gone. But they needed to see it — in person — for themselves.

“Who are these strangers going to our homes and recording what’s left of them?” Yell asked. She grew up in Altadena and described it as their “own little paradise.”

Eventually, an officer let the group pass the barricade.

“It’s about a quarter mile to our home,” Younger said as she started the trek. “We’ll see what we can salvage.”

Across the county in Pacific Palisades, residents lined up at the foot of Chautauqua Boulevard on Friday afternoon waiting for their first look at their homes since the fire tore through their neighborhood. Residents are still not allowed into the area on their own, but a patrol car was slowly escorting residents, a few at a time, to what remained of their homes.

Some had no idea what awaited them. Others knew their homes had been destroyed and just wanted to see what they could salvage.

Whitney Farrer, 28, who grew up in the Palisades, said her parents had fled without taking anything sentimental. They thought they’d be able to return home the next day.

“We’re going through the rubble and see if there’s anything left — any mementos,” she said.

Firefighters had managed to retrieve a heart-shaped rock from the ash of Jessica Rogers' home in the El Medio Bluffs neighborhood. She had decorated the outside of her front door with the sweetly shaped rocks she collected from her family’s travels. She wanted to show her kids that the fire hadn’t taken those memories.

For her family, the simple stone provided a much-needed message of hope.

“In this tragedy, there’s some incredible compassion and support and love, and that’s what I’m holding on to,” said Rogers, who is president of the Pacific Palisades Residents Association. “Those are the things that matter.”

Besides fighting the flames, officials are trying to protect the massive burn zones in Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Altadena, Pasadena and surrounding areas from would-be looters. On Friday, members of the California National Guard were patrolling some areas, assisting with traffic control and keeping people out of evacuated neighborhoods where authorities have made arrests in recent days for looting and other crimes.

The Sheriff’s Department has implemented a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the mandatory evacuation zones around the Eaton and Palisades fires. The curfew, which was in effect Thursday night, was expected to continue Friday, Luna said.

“We are not screwing around with this,” Luna said. “We don’t want anyone taking advantage of our residents that have already been victimized.”

Santa Monica has already imposed a nighttime curfew for some northern neighborhoods still affected by a mandatory evacuation order.

L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said authorities are focused on five crimes related to the fires: arson, curfew violations, looting, illegal drone usage and scams. For anyone who commits these crimes, Hochman said, “You will be arrested, you will be prosecuted and you will be punished to the full extent of the law.”

A “super scooper” firefighting aircraft remained grounded, waiting on repairs, after it was damaged when it collided with a drone Thursday over the Palisades fire.

Officials are continuing to investigate the cause of all the fires burning in Los Angeles County. However, two law enforcement sources told the Times that it’s likely many of the small blazes will turn out to have been the work of arson. The sources were familiar with the investigations but not authorized to discuss specifics.

Officials on Friday praised firefighters’ quick action in the Kenneth fire, which started near the western edge of Woodland Hills about 2:30 p.m Thursday, where Victory Boulevard terminates into the rolling hills of the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.

The fire, fanned by strong Santa Ana winds, spread through open space and was threatening homes in the Malibu Canyon area north of the 101 Freeway near Calabasas. Firefighting helicopters worked swiftly to douse the flames with water.

The fire had consumed 1,000 acres of brush as of Friday and was 35% contained, officials said.

The dangerous combination of low humidity, bone-dry fuels and shifting winds has complicated firefighters’ efforts to get the blazes under control this week. Firefighters were hopeful the lull in the winds would help them lay down fire lines and boost containment. Additional help was also continuing to arrive, including in the form of fire crews from Canada and Mexico, officials said.

“It’s more favorable for us and for crews to get into some of those areas with steep, rugged terrain that may be a little dangerous when that wind is up, and with the warmer, drier temperatures,” said Will Powers, a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman.

Looking ahead, crews face more challenging conditions on the fire line.

After a day of brief respite from the winds Saturday, gusty winds are expected to return as early as Sunday.

That could be the start to as many as three Santa Ana wind events next week, the strongest expected by Tuesday.

Those winds shouldn’t be as devastating as the gusts recorded Tuesday and Wednesday this week, which reached 80 to 100 mph in some areas, but would still amount to a “moderate to strong event,” said Kristan Lund, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

But the winds are expected to be focused over Ventura County — which could give L.A. County firefighters a bit of a break, but it also could create additional concerns farther west in a region already strapped for resources.

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(Staff writers Rong-Gong Lin II, Melody Gutierrez, Clara Harter, Tony Barboza, Terry Castleman, Sean Greene, Lorena Iñiguez Elebee, Don Lee, Summer Lin, Jasmine Mendez, Luke Money, Koko Nakajima, Matthew Ormseth and Faith E. Pinho contributed to this report.)

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