The new year has brought Southern California much hardship and devastation as multiple wildfires light up the city of Los Angeles. The first flame sparked on January 7, 2025 at 10:30 am just Southeast of Palisades Drive in the Pacific Palisades to later erupt into what is known as the Palisades Fire— the first of many fires to come. The Palisades Fire so far has burned 23,713 acres of the region with a population of about 23,193 people. Nearly 1,484 structures have been damaged or destroyed, with 8 known civilian fatalities. As reported by the Los Angeles Fire Department, The Palisades Fire is only 14% contained. Later that night (7:09 pm), in the cities of Altadena and Pasadena, the Eaton Fire (the second largest fire) sparked. 14,117 acres have been burned with a population of the burned areas settling around 23,279 people. 3,051 structures have been damaged or destroyed with a total of 15 civilian fatalities. Fire officials have reported a 33% containment so far. Finally, the next largest fire appeared shortly after the Eaton Fire at around 10:29 pm. The Hurst Fire is under 97% containment, but is still fairly active. It has burned a total of 799 acres of Sylmar. The fires’ proximity to many densely populated areas could potentially make them the costliest fires in California history with the projected cost of repair to be around $97 billion.
But why do these catastrophic events happen and why do they seem to be getting much worse over the years?
After gaining much rainfall last year due to the strong El Niño event, incredible amounts of plants and grasses were able to grow and thrive in the area. However, in the months following summer, California has transitioned into La Niña— causing significantly dryer conditions. In fact, because of this unexpected shift, California is facing some of its driest conditions ever reported. Throughout the winter, instead of getting its usual rain, the plant growth is facing severe and prolonged drought, leaving the vegetation parched. Along with the dry conditions, the major Santa Ana winds also play a major role in the acceleration and spread of the wildfires. The Santa Ana winds are an annual flow of wind traveling from Nevada to Southern California between the fall and winter seasons. Causing the wildfires to spread rapidly, the Santa Anas during the current Los Angeles fires have been reported to have reached up to 100 mph— equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane. These intense gusts of wind ha
ve made fire fighting nearly impossible as embers were being picked up and carried to new areas, sparking new fires. A total of 12 fires have been ignited as of January 7th.
Detecting the actual cause of the Palisades fire remains unknown as investigating causes of wildfires can be nearly impossible. Potential human causes include fireworks, arson, or unauthorized camping or rekindling a campfire, or even a previous, extinguished fire that occurred on New Year’s Day. The previous Jan. 1 fire seems to be the biggest speculation from the public so far. Examining the movement patterns of the fire on different plants, rocks, or other objects can lead an investigator to the start point. Investigators may implement tools such as magnets or metal detectors to sift through the ashes in search for tiny objects like machinery parts, matches, glass, or remnants of fireworks.
As of January 15, 2025, the winds are not projected to calm while firefighters still grapple to contain the Palisades and Eaton fires. These two fires have officially been named the most destructive and the second-most destructive wildfires in Southern California history, respectively. After a week of burning, the total area destroyed so far by the two fires combined is about 60 square miles— larger than the size of Paris, France. Although the memories of many residents have been burned to ashes alongside childhood homes, schools, museums, restaurants, and other local shops, the city of Los Angeles remains a strong community. Many families and local companies are offering their assistance to any victims of the fires, including first responders. Opening up their homes for evacuees, allowing people to set up camps in parking lots, and even providing free food, clothing, and hotel rooms are just a few examples of a large community coming together.
