City of Angels now City of Ashes

Editor in Chief Beth Nicholls covers the raging inferno that decimated Southern California this January.

Seven ferocious wildfires burnt through Southern California, United States of America, from 7 to 31 January 2025, causing widespread damage and destruction to Los Angeles metropolitan and San Diego County areas. [1]

Though the initial cause of the fires was unknown, they were fuelled by the longstanding hot, dry climate and powerful winds that are known to frequent the California state.

The Palisades Fire was the first and largest of the seven fires to erupt on 7 January, and it began in the Pacific Palisades, a neighbourhood near Malibu in Los Angeles. The inferno started as a simple brush fire, only to explode and grow to burn over 23,000 acres of land, before finally being declared 100% contained by Cal Fire 24 days later, on 31 January. This fire laid claim to more than 6,800 structures that were either completely destroyed or damaged to some extent. [1]

The second largest of the wildfires was The Eaton Fire which reached 14,021 acres of land and was also contained on 31 January. This blaze started in Los Angeles County mere hours after the Palisades Fire caught alight, feeding on the rain-free trees of the Angeles National Forest, whilst being powered and spread by the hurricane-force Santa Ana winds. [2]

After firefighters began to battle these two large blazes, several other, smaller fires broke out across the Southern California area. They are known as the Lidia, Archer, Woodley, Sunset, Kenneth, Hurst, and Auto fires, and were all able to be 100% contained, though not before they scorched 2,399 acres of land. [1]

The Hughes Fire then began in Los Angeles County near Castaic Lake two weeks after the initial blaze erupted in the Palisades. After eight days, the fire was also fully contained by Cal Fire after covering over 10,000 acres of land. [1]

These wildfires greatly affected the Los Angeles metropolitan area, with over 200,000 people given the evacuation order, including areas such as Malibu and Santa Monica. Despite the overnight curfews and evacuation orders eventually coming to an end across late January, the fires tore through and destroyed entire neighbourhoods and blocks, leaving an unknown number of California residents homeless.

Climate scientists from the World Weather Attribution say that climate change was a major factor in the wildfires. The hot drought periods are now lasting longer in the LA region, and the rain that usually puts out small brush and grass fires has reduced. These scientists do also highlight that wildfires are complex and there can never be one sole factor in their creation, but warming weather is affecting the intensity and frequency of fires in Southern California.  

Dr Clair Barnes, from Imperial College London, states that: "Drought conditions are more frequently pushing into winter, increasing the chance a fire will break out during strong Santa Ana winds that can turn small ignitions into deadly infernos." [3]

Dry conditions have recently been a frequent occurrence in LA over winter, during the months of October to December, though this drought period is now 2.4 times more likely to occur since humans started using fossil fuels on a large scale. [3] These researchers have found that climate change can be linked to these hot conditions that fuelled the fires, but they cannot make a link between higher temperatures and a longer fire season or decreased rainfall.

Prof Gabi Hegerl, from the University of Edinburgh (who was not part of the research team that wrote the paper) stated that: “Overall, the paper finds that climate change has made the Los Angeles fires more likely, despite some statistical uncertainty.” [3]

In addition to these higher temperatures, LA also suffers from climate whiplash, where there are violent and rapid swings between dry and wet conditions. These changes between conditions caused a large amount of dry vegetation to be created in Southern California, which is ready to ignite and feed fires. [4]

The 2025 Southern California wildfires caused much devastation to the community, with tens of thousands of acres burnt, many losing their homes, and even the death of at least 29 people. [1] This major series of wildfires also sparks a larger conversation surrounding the adverse effects of climate change and warmer weather.

References:

[1] Stelloh, Tim, et al. “California wildfires: What we know about L.A.-area fires, what caused them, who is affected and more.” NBC News, 31 January 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-wildfires-what-we-know-palisades-eaton-los-angeles-rcna188239.

[2] Romero, Dennis. “Deadly Eaton and Palisades fires 100% contained after 24 days.” NBC News, 1 February 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/wildfires/palisades-eaton-fire-la-contained-rcna188338.

[3] McGrath, Matt. “Climate change made LA fires worse, scientists say.” BBC, 29 January 2025,  https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9qy4knd8wo. 

[4] McGrath, Matt. “Climate 'whiplash' linked to raging LA fires.” BBC, 10 January 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0ewe4p9128o.