AMNA NAWAZ: All around Los Angeles today, residents again held their breath while firefighters work to prevent major fires from starting or spreading.

At least 25 people are dead and more than 12,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed.

More than 80,000 people remain undamaged under evacuation orders.

Stephanie Sy has our report.

STEPHANIE SY: It was another tense 24 hours in Southern California, as exhausted firefighters worked to contain flare-ups and protect hard-fought progress across the city.

ANTHONY MARRONE, Los Angeles County, California, Fire Chief: The anticipated 70-mile-an-hour winds have yet to materialize.

However, this could change and we are still at risk.

STEPHANIE SY: As of this evening, millions remained under red flag warnings, while crews continue to battle flames from the ground and the air.

The good news for weary Angelenos, winds were mostly weaker than anticipated.

And the forecast for the week was largely favorable, though there's still no sign of rain.

KRISTIN CROWLEY, Los Angeles City, California, Fire Chief: The danger has not yet passed, so please, please prioritize your safety.

STEPHANIE SY: This morning, L.A. city officials faced tough questions about their preparedness and firefighting strategy.

The L.A. Times reported the Los Angeles Fire Department chose not to extend the shifts of roughly 1,000 firefighters and dozens of engines, even as the winds worsened in the hours before the Palisades Fire.

KRISTIN CROWLEY: Our firefighters on the truck.

STEPHANIE SY: L.A. Fire chief Christian Crowley did not detail just how many extra firefighters were initially called in, but she defended the department's response.

KRISTIN CROWLEY: We have the capability, and we did, pull every resource in and around the area.

We pre-deployed the resources in very, very calculated ways throughout the city, also not knowing where a fire might start and might not start.

I think that's very, very important that everybody understands that.

STEPHANIE SY: More than two dozen people are still missing.

Dogs trained to locate human remains are now combing the debris in both major burn zones, helping hundreds of first responders complete a painstaking house-by-house search.

ROBERT FOXWORTHY, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection: It's a considerable amount of structures to search, thousands, and it's going to be a long process.

STEPHANIE SY: Officials have charged at least nine people for isolated incidents of looting.

And L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath issued a stern warning to businesses that may try to profit from the crisis by price gouging.

LINDSEY HORVATH, Los Angeles County, California, Board of Supervisors: We cannot raise the price of rent, goods, or services more than 10 percent.

We are taking these instances seriously and there will be consequences.

STEPHANIE SY: The cause of both blazes is still under investigation.

MAN: Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

STEPHANIE SY: But new video appears to show the early moments of the Eaton Fire at the base of power lines in Altadena.

In the Palisades, residents said flames erupted in an area where a fire had previously burned on New Year's Day.

DON GRIFFIN, California Resident: There was no lightning.

There's no power lines up there.

There's no reason necessarily that a fire would just start by itself, but who knows.

STEPHANIE SY: As efforts turn toward recovery, residents are still struggling to make sense of a natural disaster that took so much so quickly.

AARON LUBELEY, California Resident: You know, you stand there staring like, how am I going to tell my kids that everything is gone, and why didn't God answer my prayers and do this to me?

STEPHANIE SY: And yet even those who've lost everything, like Altadena resident Aaron Lubeley, are helping others.

He's been handing out food, water and other essentials from the charred remains of his front yard.

AARON LUBELEY: You can never plan for what you do in a situation like this.

All you can do is take one step forward, have the strength to take a second step forward.

STEPHANIE SY: Spoken like a true survivor and a good neighbor.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Stephanie Sy.