Within the first month of the new year, Los Angeles has experienced great tragedy and loss with the fires raging through the city. At least 28 people have been killed, 17,000 homes, schools, and other establishments have been destroyed, 31,000 people have evacuated, and even more have fled from the suffocating smoke and powerful winds. Everyone in LA knows at least one person who’s lost everything. As of January 31, the wildfires were fully contained.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the first fire started in the Pacific Palisades at 10:30am on January 7. Not even a day later at 6:18pm, the Eaton fire erupted. More recently, on January 22, the Hughes area too broke out in flames. In total, more than 57,000 acres have been destroyed, enough to completely envelop the city of Boston’s 31,000 acres.
Wildfires in Southern California are nothing new. But as reported by The World Resources Institute, this year’s flames are extraordinary, and are among the deadliest and most destructive that the state has seen. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, it has been called to battle 301 fires since the Palisades erupted on January 7. To date, 57,403 acres have burned.
The exact causes of these fires is still under investigation according to Newsweek. Whether the initial spark was created by New Year’s fireworks or faulty Edison electrical towers isn’t known, but the drought conditions made the region a tinderbox. And once the fires started, it was the heavy winds that rapidly spread the fires throughout the LA area and have made them very difficult to contain.
Despite the Palisades fire catching the most headlines, it was the Eaton fire that took more people’s lives and houses in Altadena, Ca. News footage of the town shows streets that have been described as a war zone by residents. Noah Golden-Krasner and his family, who live in Altadena, were evacuated. “The fire got within a block and a half of his house before it was stopped,” says Golden-Krasner’s brother-in-law and Dana Hall Social Studies teacher Frank Tipton. “But a lot of the businesses they went to burned and their good friends’ houses.” The wildfire also destroys The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, the 150-year-old synagogue attended by Golden-Krasner and his family.
There has been a plethora of AI-generated images on the Internet, spreading false information about the fires. This includes realistic images and videos of iconic Los Angeles locations in flames. But the Hollywood Sign and Walk of Fame are still standing. Another LA institution still standing is the Getty Center in Brentwood, home to priceless art and antiquities. The Palisades Fire did come close to the museum and all but the emergency staff were forced to evacuate. But the building and its irreplaceable contents survived. As reported by NBC Los Angeles its structure is made of non flammable materials like stone and concrete, and before the fire they had cleared out all the brush and cut back any flammable bushes or other plants near the building. As the fires were getting close, staff wet the ground and airplanes dropped water all over the building to prevent it from catching fire. As people across the region begin to think about rebuilding, they should look to the lessons of the Getty.
In the shorter term, people, even those who no longer have houses, have been working countless hours to volunteer and help with cleanup, clothing drives, food kitchens, etc. One of the many GoFundMe’s, Wildfire Relief fund, has raised $5.7 million to support families in need. Many famous musicians, including Billie Eilish, Gracie Abrams, and many more, performed a Benefit Concert on Thursday, January 30th, raising $140 million dollars.
You can donate to the LAFD, Red Cross, World Central Kitchen, The California Community Foundation, and more.
Isla Burke contributed to reporting for this article.