*

At least 24 people dead, over 12,000 structures damaged or

destroyed

*

More than 88,000 people under evacuation order

*

High winds and low humidity pose extreme danger for at

least

another day

*

Despite wind, size of fires has not increased in two days

By Lisa Richwine and Mike Blake

LOS ANGELES, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Firefighters on Tuesday

held the line against two massive wildfires that have ravaged

parts of Los Angeles for the past week, even as desert winds and

a parched landscape presented extremely hazardous conditions.

Some 8,500 firefighters from at least seven states and two

foreign countries prevented the fires from growing for a second

straight day as they gained slightly more control of the

perimeter of the blazes, which nonetheless have consumed an area

the size of Washington, D.C.

A fleet of aircraft dropped water and retardant into the

rugged hills while ground crews with hand tools and hoses have

worked around the clock since the fires broke out on Jan. 7,

with the aircraft occasionally grounded by high winds.

The Palisades Fire on the west edge of town held steady at

23,713 acres (96 square km) burned, and containment increased 3

percentage points to 17% - a measurement of how much of the

perimeter was under control.

The Eaton Fire in the foothills east of the city stood at

14,117 acres (57 sq km) with containment up 2 points to 35%.

Southern California has lacked any appreciable rain since

April, turning brush into tinder as Santa Ana winds originating

from the deserts whipped over hilltops and rushed through

canyons, sending embers flying up to 2 miles (3 km) ahead of the

fires.

Red flag conditions were expected to last through Wednesday

after winds peaked overnight with gusts surpassing 50 miles per

hour (80 kph), the National Weather Service said.

Winds were weaker than expected during the day on Tuesday

but forecast to peak around 3 a.m. (1100 GMT) on Wednesday, with

gusts in the mountains possibly reaching 70 mph (112 kph), the

weather service said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said 11 new fires broke out

in Southern California overnight and were quickly extinguished

because firefighters and equipment were positioned ahead of

time. But three other fires were still burning, including one

each in neighboring Ventura and Riverside counties that started

on Monday and Tuesday, Cal Fire said.

The death toll held steady at 24 as did the estimate of

12,000 structures damaged or destroyed, still portending a

Herculean rebuilding effort ahead.

Entire neighborhoods have been leveled, leaving smoldering

ash and rubble. In many homes, only a chimney is left standing.

"It's one thing to see it on television. It's another thing

to see it from the air. The massive, massive destruction is

unimaginable until you actually see it," Los Angeles Mayor Karen

Bass told a press conference after taking an aerial tour.

A few thousand more people were allowed back home but 88,000

remained under evacuation orders with another 84,000 under

evacuation warning - large-scale displacements unprecedented in

the metropolitan area's history.

John Adolph, 48, who lost his home in Altadena to the Eaton

Fire, was grateful to be safe but uncertain of what lies ahead.

Adolph said he went back to see what he could salvage as the

fire raged.

"There were burning grocery stores, gas stations, exploding

cars that went pop with glass flying ... Walls of flames two

stories tall, tornadoes of flame. I was stupid with a side of

crazy to try," Adolph said.

Urban search and rescue teams worked from an Altadena

grocery store parking lot, tracking progress on whiteboards and

handing out assignments from inside a trailer.

"We're doing a systematic search. The winds really don't

have a whole lot of effect on our search and rescue operations,"

said Jorge Villanueva, a regional task force leader with the

California Office of Emergency Services.

His team of 50 firefighters and sheriff's deputies conducted

house-by-house searches, looking for any lingering fires and

hazards such as lithium-ion batteries connected to solar panels.

PRICELESS ART DEEMED SAFE

The Palisades Fire also approached the priceless art

collection at the J. Paul Getty Museum, which houses paintings

by Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Monet and Degas.

But the collection remained safely inside the Getty Center's

fortress of travertine stone, fire-protected steel and

reinforced concrete. "It would be extremely foolish to try and

remove artwork" from its safe harbor, Getty Trust President

Katherine E. Fleming said.

In Washington, a battle over emergency aid broke out between

Republicans and Democrats over what is already the costliest

wildfire in terms of insured losses.

Private forecaster AccuWeather estimates total damage and

economic loss between $250 billion and $275 billion, which would

make it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history,

surpassing Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Democrats in Congress opposed the suggestion by House

Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, that conditions be placed on

aid. Johnson also said any wildfire disaster assistance funding

should be "paid for," meaning the cost should be covered to

prevent adding to the budget deficit, possibly by cutting other

programs.

That is a departure from many previous natural disasters,

and Democratic Representative Ted Lieu of California called

Johnson's position "outrageous."

"We should not be leveraging the pain and suffering of our

fellow Americans to try to force new policy changes," Lieu said.

(Reporting Lisa Richwine, Mike Blake, Chad Terhune, Jorge

Garcia, Sandra Stojanovic, Alan Devall, Jackie Luna, Matt

McKnight, Mario Anzuoni, Nathan Frandino, Omar Younis, Rollo

Ross, David Ryder, Daniel Cole, David Swanson and Joe Brock in

Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien, Rich

McKay, Hannah Lang and Richard Cowan; Writing by Daniel Trotta;

Editing by Frank McGurty, Bernadette Baum, Mark Porter, Nick

Zieminski and Lincoln Feast.)