Historic Los Angeles wildfires are anything but ‘unprecedented’

The Palisades Fire may well turn out to be the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history, even while today it remains uncontained and growing.

The wildfire was 0% contained and had destroyed more than 1,000 structures in and around the city’s Pacific Palisades Neighborhood less than 24 hours after igniting, officials confirmed at a press conference.

Whatever the cause of ignition, a combination of hurricane-force winds, drought, and an abundance of newly-grown vegetation that had quickly dried, created the perfect storm for rapid and destructive wildfire spread.

The Palisades Fire, and at least four other fires that ignited on the same day, were often called “unprecedented” by officials and the media, but they were anything but.

These fires may well be the most destructive for L.A., but are only considered unprecedented by those who have forgotten the past history of fire in the area – or forgotten the precedents of the Camp Fire of 2018 or the Australian Black Summer Fires of 2019-20 or Greece of 2023, and others.

The wildfire risks for these parts of L.A. have been well documented over many years, and a similar conflagration happened in the city less than two decades earlier. One of the most read articles on Wildfire Today this week – possibly mistakenly due to their similarities – is a round-up of the 2019 fires around L.A.

Palisades Fire via Cal Fire

L.A.’s previous most-destructive wildlife was 2008’s Sayre Fire, which destroyed more than 600 homes in the city’s Sylmar Neighborhood, according to reporting from the Los Angeles Times. It spread at the same time as two other fires and left more than 20,000 acres burned.

The Sayre Fire’s destruction was largely driven by 50 to 80 mile-per-hour gusts from the Santa Ana Winds, a phenomenon the National Weather Service (NWS) said happens yearly from September through May. The extreme winds occur when a region of high pressure over the desert Southwest flows toward low pressure near the Californian coast, which drastically increases wildfire risk due to their speed and dryness.

The same hurricane-force winds fanned the Palisades Fire’s flames.

“A LIFE-THREATENING, DESTRUCTIVE, Widespread Windstorm is expected Tue afternoon-Weds morning across much of Ventura/LA Co,” NWS said a day before the wildfire started. “Stay indoors, away from windows, expect power outages….The strongest wind areas of LA and Ventura Counties will see widespread N-NE wind gusts of 50-80 mph, with isolated gusts up to 80-100 mph in the mountains and foothills.”

Drought and an abundance of dry vegetation also fueled both the Palisades Fire and the Sayre Fire, and many other not-so-record breaking wildfires of recent times.

The United States Forest Service reported the Sayre Fire consumed 95% of all vegetative cover across 5,500 acres of the Angeles National Forest right after California saw its driest 8-month stretch, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.

Similarly, Los Angeles has now experienced its second-driest period in almost 150 years of record keeping. Ample vegetation, which grew and thrived during record-breaking rain seasons in the city during 2023 and 2022, dried up and was ready to burn.

Palisades Fire via Cal Fire

Apart from the “perfect storm” scenarios of the Palisades and Sayre, experts have known for decades that much of California’s land is dependent on fire.

Nearly 10 years ago, researchers concluded that weather (mostly the Santa Ana winds) and the spatial distribution of built property were the key determinants of risk in the southern California landscape: “adequate planning of the changes in the built environment…is going to be vital for managing risk from fire under future climates.”

Almost 20 years ago, experts drew on studies from the early 1970s on ways to specifically stop conflagrations from burning in Southern California, saying “Through strategic fuel management planning, we could influence the total number and size of the (conflagration) occurrences as well as their geographic distribution and thereby mitigate the impacts of too much of the ‘wrong kind of fire'”.

Wildfire Today will hold off on any deep dive into the causes of the current fires out of respect to all those still being impacted by active fires today.

Longer and more intense periods of wildfire weather are expected across the nation in the near future, especially, but not solely, in Southern California. Let’s take this “opportunity” to work out what we know, what we can learn, and what we need to do to make meaningful change.

LA wildfires fanned by high winds as fire, snow and ice compete for headlines around the world

As if we didn’t need more evidence of overlapping wildfire seasons, fire activity is competing for headlines with snow and ice warnings in both northern and southern hemispheres around the globe.

Today a fast-moving fire is threatening residents in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles and has closed parts of the Pacific Coast Highway between Malibu and Santa Monica. The situation is developing fast with the Los Angeles Fire Department issuing mandatory evacuation orders and traffic alerts:

Palisades fire 7 Jan 2025
Palisades fire 7 Jan 2025, Los Angeles Fire Department

 

Wildfires in January are not unprecedented in southern California and only last month the Franklin Fire burned more than 4000 acres around Malibu.

The National Weather Service warned on 7 January of Extremely Critical Fire Weather in Southern California with high winds around the mountains and foothills:

High winds and low relative humidity will produce critical to extremely critical fire weather in southern California through Thursday.

Critical fire weather conditions and damaging downslope winds expected through Thursday across portions of Southern California with extremely critical fire weather likely for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties on Wednesday…

 


California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday that these could be some of the worst fire conditions the region had seen for many years with the wind forecast combined with the extremely dry conditions with low humidity.

Meanwhile after three weeks and a disrupted Christmas, the long-running bushfire in the Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park in Victoria Australia is now contained. The fire began on 17 December after dry lightning started multiple fires in the southern part of the national park.

With a fire footprint circumference of 262 miles (422 kms), more than 188,000 acres (76,000 hectares) of national park and agricultural land was burned with smoke covering most of south-west Victoria and parts of Melbourne.

With most of fire in dense forest property losses were relatively small and there were no serious personal injuries. Early data indicates livestock losses include 775 sheep, one horse, one beef cattle and 1,285 beehives, plus 335 miles (540 kms) of fencing.

New South Wales this week contended with more than 70 fire outbreaks across the state, many started by lightning strikes as summer storms passed over. The firegrounds are now seeing welcome rain. Earlier, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service showed how to get the water to a dry fireground:

 

 

After years of anxiety, U.S. wildland firefighter pay boost may finally become permanent in 2025

A grueling fight that forced wildland firefighters in the United States to become armchair legislative experts just entered its fourth year, with a light at the end of the tunnel being closer than ever.

A $20,000 retention bonus enacted by the Biden Administration in 2021 has subsequently caused a spike in fear and panic for wildland firefighters every few months. The bonus was only supplemental, as legislators intended to enact a permanent pay increase.

Years later, that pay increase has yet to become a reality. Each federal budget or continuing resolution passed since, including the most recent push filled with “political turmoil,” has almost resulted in a massive pay cut to the force as legislators nearly failed to extend the $20,000 bonus.

Wildland firefighters may soon be able to “step off the anxiety merry-go-round,” as Jonathon Golden with Grassroots Wildland Firefighters nonprofit puts it, as a permanent solution nears final passage.

Wildland firefighters
Wildland firefighters. Credit: USFS.

The supplemental pay increase was most recently included in Congress’ Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2024 and will remain in place until Congress passes a budget for Fiscal Year 2025, which they are now four months late on and counting.

Versions of the Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act (WFPPA), which would solidify the pay increase and guarantee other compensation improvements, are included in both the House Interior Appropriations bill and Senate Interior Appropriations bill for 2025 with bipartisan support.

“I feel comforted by the fact that House Republicans included the WFPPA in the House Interior Appropriations bill and that the Senate is there to match right alongside,” said Golden, who is the legislative director for the nonprofit. “My thought is that when we see a final Fiscal Year 2025 budget, we will also see some version of WFPPA that will make into law a higher pay for wildland firefighters.”

A new incoming Congress and presidential administration may extend and complicate the process. President-elect Donald Trump has twice threatened to withhold federal aid from wildland firefighters in California along the campaign trail.

Despite this, Golden sees the coming opportunity as the best shot wildland firefighters have of getting a livable wage. The United States Forest Service signaled a similar sentiment in a statement sent out on Dec. 31.

“There is strong bipartisan support in Congress to make this firefighter pay reform permanent,” the statement said. “Our team in Washington continues to engage with Congress as lawmakers consider a permanent solution. We are preparing for every possibility to ensure this critical reform is implemented as seamlessly as possible.”

“We’re closer, but we’re not there yet,” Golden told Wildfire Today.

Trump, again, threatens to withhold California wildfire aid if elected

For the second time in as many months, former President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal wildfire aid from California if he is elected for a second term.

Trump echoed the threat on Saturday during a campaign rally at Coachella Valley. The candidate, an hour into his rally, said he’d fix the state’s water issue without providing details about how he’d do it.

“We’re going to take care of your water situation, and we’ll force it down (Governor Gavin Newsom’s) throat,” Trump said. “And we’ll say, Gavin, if you don’t do it, we’re not giving any of that fire money that we send you all the time for all the forest fires that you have. It’s not hard to do.”

Line Fire burning on Sept. 10 near Keller Peak. Credit: ALERTCalifornia / UC San Diego

Trump’s previous threat on Sept. 15 sparked backlash from California’s wildland firefighting force, namely from California Professional Firefighters President Brian K. Rice.

“Trump expressed that he would play with [Californians’] lives and their homes if he doesn’t get what he wants,” Rice said in a statement posted on Twitter. “He would rather watch our state burn in the name of his political games, than to send help if he were to become president again…It is a disgrace to our great nation and to every Californian that this man has a platform to threaten our livelihoods, safety, families and our state.”

The union did not share thoughts on Trump’s second threat, as they were among a gathering of hundreds of firefighters and families in Sacramento for the 2024 California Firefighters Memorial Ceremony. The names of 36 California firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2024 were added to the memorial wall, which already includes more than 1,500 names.

Denying disaster aid to California is a tradition for Trump. The then-president initially denied a California request for aid in 2020, during what would become its most disastrous wildfire season on record.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘Watch our state burn’: Trump’s threat to withhold California wildfire aid angers state’s firefighting force

‘Watch our state burn’: Trump’s threat to withhold California wildfire aid angers state’s firefighting force

During a pseudo-campaign stop that functioned more as a golf course advertisement, former President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal wildfire aid from California if Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t bow to his policies, infuriating firefighters throughout the state.

Trump made the declaration on Friday during a private fundraiser at his golf club in Rancho Palos Verdes. The statement was made after Trump ranted about a nonexistent “very large faucet” in Canada holding water back from California and causing the state’s drought.

“The automobile industry is dead, the water coming in is dead, and Gavin Newsom is going to sign those papers, and if he doesn’t sign those papers, we won’t give him money to put out all his fires,” Trump said. “And if we don’t give him the money to put out his fires, he’s got problems.”

Dixie Fire at Greenville, CA, 2021
Dixie Fire at Greenville, California — photo ©2021 Jay Walter.

The declaration, understandably, angered California’s wildland firefighting force. California Professional Firefighters President Brian K. Rice said the former president should be ashamed over the threat.

“Trump expressed that he would play with [Californians’] lives and their homes if he doesn’t get what he wants,” Rice said in a statement posted on Twitter. “He would rather watch our state burn in the name of his political games, than to send help if he were to become president again…It is a disgrace to our great nation and to every Californian that this man has a platform to threaten our livelihoods, safety, families and our state.”

Newsom also weighed in after Trump’s threat, calling it a warning to every American.

“Trump just admitted he will block emergency disaster funds to settle political vendettas,” Newsom posted on Twitter. “Today it’s California’s wildfires. Tomorrow it could be hurricane funding for North Carolina or flooding assistance for homeowners in Pennsylvania. Donald Trump doesn’t care about America — he only cares about himself.”

A fire whirl was spotted at the Park Fire in the early evening hours of July 25, 2024. ~ AlertCalifornia camera
A fire whirl was spotted at the Park Fire in the early evening hours of July 25, 2024.
~ AlertCalifornia camera

Denying disaster aid to California is a tradition for Trump. His 2020 administration initially denied a request submitted by the state during what would become its most-disastrous wildfire season on record. The administration would go on to approve the aid, but not before causing panic throughout the state driven by damage, cleanup, and rebuilding woes.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Trump administration reverses decision to deny California’s request for fire disaster assistance

Watch the full C-SPAN recording of Trump’s press conference here (he starts talking about water and wildfire funding at 1:05:00):

 

Students at California college choked by wildfire smoke urge campus closure

Many schools around San Bernardino County have closed as smoke from the nearby Line Fire blots out the sky and pollutes the air around the area.

Air quality for the area on Wednesday was recorded as “Unhealthy” at 178 PM2.5, according to AirNow. The entire county is under an air quality alert issued by the National Weather Service until Thursday morning. The fire has burned 34,729 acres and is at 14% containment as of Wednesday afternoon.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Line Fire’s evacuations for thousands hold as it burns away from San Bernardino

The hazardous conditions caused many school districts throughout the area to close for the week, including the Bear Valley Unified School District, the Redlands Unified School District, and the Rim of the World Unified School District.

California State University at San Bernardino, however, has continued to have classes, enraging thousands of students on campus.

Line Fire burning on Sept. 10 near Keller Peak. Credit: ALERTCalifornia / UC San Diego

“This fire has brought with it a surge of potential health effects, most notably to those with pre-existing respiratory issues, adding a layer of danger on top of an already dangerous situation,” a petition to close the campus, which has reached over 3,000 signatures, said. “As per the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposure to such particles can cause respiratory symptoms and aggravate lung and heart conditions.”

The EPA attributes numerous health effects to short-term wildfire smoke exposure, including:

  • Heart failure
  • Heart attack
  • Stroke
  • Increased risk of emergency room visits and hospital admissions
  • Bronchitis
  • Reduced lung function
  • Increased risk of asthma exacerbation and aggravation of other lung diseases

“It’s distressing that amidst these severe conditions, the campus remains open, forcing students and faculty members to risk their health,” the petition said. “We should not have to choose between our health and our education. Safe and quality education should not involve risking your wellbeing.”

Recent Washington Department of Ecology research found air pollution, driven by wildfire smoke, shortened life expectancy for the state’s most overburdened communities by 2.4 years. Those communities also had higher numbers of deaths from cardiovascular disease.

READ MORE: Smoke reduced life expectancy across Washington

Smoke from other wildfires in the area, including the Bridge, Airport, and Roblar fires, are also inundating the area but will also act to moderate fire activity, San Bernardino National Forest officials said Wednesday.

“Smoke from fires across the region will help moderate fire activity unless the skies clear and the smoke thins,” officials said. “That would allow for more slope and vegetation aligned runs.”