Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rom.

Fire crews are battling to contain several major wildfires in Southern California.

As forecasters warn, there could be more strong winds in the days to come.

The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office is investigating at least 16 deaths.

L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna confirms at least 14 people in

his jurisdiction died, and at least 16 people are missing. Luna said he understands that residents

want to go home and check on their property. They shouldn't. I stopped by several checkpoints,

both in Altadena and Malibu yesterday.

I personally listened to residents, please, please let me back in.

So I'm just going to say this.

In driving around some of these areas, they literally look like war zones.

There are down power poles, electric wires.

There are still some smoldering fires.

It is not safe.

Health officials are warning some people in the region their water isn't safe.

The advisories are for those living near the largest burn zones.

As NPR's Ping Wong reports, urban wildfires have specific risks for drinking water.

Residents near the wildfires, including those in Pasadena and the Pacific Palisades, should not drink the tap water.

They should not make food or ice with it. They should even consider not showering or washing dishes with it.

These warnings were issued over concerns of chemical contamination from the wildfires.

Jackson Webster is a civil engineer at Chico State in California.

Not everybody in all of the Southern California needs to be concerned about their water right now,

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