Fueled by the notorious Santa Ana winds, multiple fires dominated the Southern California’s landscape in early January. The Palisades, Eaton, Hughes, and Border fires wreaked havoc on neighborhoods and caused devastating destruction.
However, after much collective effort and intense battles, only the Border Fire remains below 91% containment; with the rest of the fires still active with very low percent uncontained remaining. Update: As of February 1, all major fires are now contained (1000+ acres).
With more than 16,000+ buildings burnt down between both the fires, the Palisades and Eaton fires took the most prominence in the media, and are set to be the costliest fires on record. According to multiple source, the fires caused hundreds of billions of dollars in damage – an economic toll on the cities of Los Angeles and Altadena are now dealing with.
“This is absolutely an unprecedented, historic firestorm,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said at a press conference.
With many questions currently being left unanswered, multiple causes are to blame. According to the National Weather Service, California is experiencing an unusually dry winter. Los Angeles received almost no rain compared to its normal average. The city only received 0.16 inches of rain since Oct. 1, much less than its typical yearly turnout of 4.56 inches. Jan. 27 was also the first time parts of the region received rain and snow.
With this being one of Southern California’s driest years on record, and with some of our wettest years coming from the last two years of constant rain, there was an abundance of fuel from plants that have now died out. dead brush and fallen trees that haven’t been cleared away were a contributing factor to the problem California faced.
Moreover, because there were so many fires that broke out at once, it made it harder for firefighters to extinguish the fires simultaneously. All of these issues are now stacking up on each other, as a rare occurrence is happening where firefighters were running out of water due to lack of pressure in the piping, while the municipal water system designed for city usage isn’t meant to sustain enough water for wildfires.
Another issue fueling the fires was a temporary water shortage on the initial night of the Palisades Fire. In a press conference on January 8, Los Angeles District of Water and Power spokesperson Mia Wong spoke to the matter.
“Water remains available in the palisades, but is limited in areas at elevation impacting fire hydrants,” said Wong.
So the question becomes–what was different? As this time, the winds proved to be more than just a seasonal nuisance. The winds were so strong that many schools, including the four northern schools in the Chaffey Joint Union High School District, closed out of an abundance of caution on Wednesday, January 8.
Most notoriously, the Palisades Fire, having been almost extinguished in Los Angeles, is mapped at around 24,300 acres at the time of this being written.
Thousands of families have been displaced and over 12 fatalities within just the Palisades Fire have been recorded, with a total of 29 deaths across two of the biggest fires currently active.
The Eaton Fire, located in Altadena, killed 17 people and destroyed more than 9,800 buildings.
In the end, all wildfires bring to mind the stark reminder of why it’s necessary to invest in fire prevention and preparedness. The devastating impacts of wildfires on communities, infrastructure, and lives underline the urgent need for proactive measures.
Whether it’s maintaining defensible space around homes, creating prescribed burns, or ensuring that emergency services are equipped to respond quickly, every step counts in mitigating the risks.
While the causes for the majority of the fires are still unknown, there is speculation that the Eaton Fire was caused by faulty Edison equipment, which can be seen in video footage here: Los Angeles wildfires: Lawsuit alleges video shows what started Eaton Fire. The official cause is still under investigation.
If you would like to donate to the people of LA County who were affected, you can go to this link.
