LOS ANGELES, United States, July 23, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A body has been found in the wreckage of one of the huge fires that tore through Los Angeles in January, officials announced Tuesday, taking the death toll from the tragedy to 31.

The human remains were discovered more than six months after huge blazes ravaged America's second-largest city for three weeks in January.

The two fires destroyed thousands of structures, devastating the affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, as well as Malibu and Altadena in the wider county.

"The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner (DME) Special Operations Response Team (SORT) responded yesterday... in Altadena to investigate possible human remains found there," a statement from the county said.

"SORT investigated and determined the remains were human. The death toll related to the wildfires is now 31."

The victim has not yet been identified.

Investigations into the causes of the two fires were still underway, with power lines coming under the microscope.

While rebuilding has begun in parts of the disaster zones, especially in the Pacific Palisades area, large swaths of the fire's footprint remain devastated.