The fires in Los Angeles, California have dominated the news since their outbreak on January 7th. Since the start of the fire till now there have been more than 57,635acres in counting that have been burned. Multiple areas around Los Angeles are under orders of evacuation and smoke and haze from the fires has now reached Canada. There unfortunately have been 29 fatalities due to the fires and 16,255 structures have been destroyed. Families have lost their homes, communities have lost their schools, churches, and community centers, and some are returning to their properties to recover what they can.
There are currently investigations being conducted to determine the source of the Palisades Fire. Attention has been focused on the area of a hiking trail where the fire may have started.
Why has it been hard to control the fires?
The article “The perfect storm: why did LA’s wildfires explode out of control?” states that the water system in the Pacific Palisades was “Inadequate to be able to handle the enormous fire and intense blaze and that the water system the firefighters use is built to fight smaller fires” (Canon and Beckett, 2025). In addition, LA firefighters were not prepared for the fire and didn’t work according to the fire, meaning that they didn’t use a lot of men where the fire was more intense and fewer firefighters where the fire was more contained. However, many say nothing would have stopped fires of this size and that there was no way they would’ve been able to prepare for it.
What has the governor said about plans to rebuild? Especially with the Olympics around the corner?
California Governor Gavin Newsom just signed a bi-partisan bill providing over $2.5 billion in disaster relief to begin recovery efforts. California leaders stated that they would approve billions of dollars to help devastated neighborhoods. An article states that there will be $2.5 billion used for sheltering for survivors, debris removal and cleanup, and post-fire hazard assessments. In addition, $4 million would be available to expedite building approvals during the recovery period. Last but not least, $1 million to rebuild fire-damaged school facilities.
At the time of publication the Palisades Fire is 97 percent contained.
