Los Angeles Fire Incident

By Oluwakeji Onabajo

Los Angeles, California, the most populous state of the United States has witnessed wildfires that have ravaged multiple parts of the state with at least 10 people killed and some 10,000 homes and other buildings burnt.

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), the first fire started in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of Los Angeles at 10:30am (18:30 GMT) on Tuesday, 7th of January, 2025.

As residents tried to protect their properties from the flames and their homes threatened by the fire, it continued to rapidly spread, fuelled by high winds.

Officials anticipate fierce winds to return on Monday. The Dry conditions and powerful winds fed at least five blazes, causing unprecedented damage in highly populated areas not known for fires till the outbreak.

Investigators are still trying to find out the cause of the worst firestorm in recent memory, with an outlook that a combination of factors might have created conditions optimal for a fire.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, lightning is the most common source of fires in the U.S., but investigators were able to rule that out quickly. There were no reports of lightning in the Palisades area or the terrain around the Eaton Fire, which started in East Los Angeles County and has also destroyed hundreds of homes.

The next two most common causes: fires intentionally set, and those sparked by utility lines.

June and July of every year is generally known as a period to experience wildfires in California, and they can run until October, but the blaze has defied the calendar this year, erupting in January – the coldest of the winter months.

December to February, yearly is typically the rainy season in California, but unlike the northern part of the state, which has had its share of soakings, Southern California has been abnormally dry for the past eight months. The last time Los Angeles logged more than one-tenth of an inch of rain was in early May.

“We haven’t had any substantial rain for hundreds of days,” said Max Moritz, a wildfire specialist at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

With climate change altering rainfall patterns and making droughts both more likely and more intense, destructive wildfires like the ones in the Los Angeles area will continue to threaten people’s lives and livelihoods, Moritz said.

The Palisades Fire, which has burned through more than 21,000 acres, is 8% contained. Evacuation orders for the blaze expanded Friday night to parts of Encino. The Eaton Fire in the Pasadena area, which has burned across nearly 14,000 acres, is 3% contained.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, the 40th governor of California said he’s “calling for an independent investigation into the loss of water pressure to local fire hydrants and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir.”

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