As it stands, almost 200,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes, with another 84,000 evacuation orders expected to be made (NBC News). These fires are ranked as the most destructive and costliest wildfire outbreak in US history. The devastation is expected to reach as high as $20 billion in insurance loss and $200 billion in total economic loss. For reference, the City of Los Angeles produces about $94 billion in economic output each year and California acts as the 5th largest economy in the world (ABC News). Therefore, this outbreak may have long-lasting economic impacts on California and the US as a whole.
The largest and most destructive fire, the Palisades fire, has been the cause of 10 fatalities in this outbreak. The blaze started the morning of January 7th, and has only reached about 27% containment in 10 days. The second largest outbreak, the Eaton Fire, has also damaged over 7,000 buildings with most being burnt down. The Eaton fire remains the deadliest in this outbreak with 17 fatalities reported. More progress has been made as containment climbed to 55% late last week, but ceaseless high winds continue to make containment especially difficult. The Kenneth Fire, the 3rd largest fire, stood at 85% containment and has yet to cause any fatalities. Despite this, millions of dollars in damages have still been caused.
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) has received large backlash and accusations of wrongdoing following the outbreak. After a 2015 LA Times article found thousands of buildings not having proper fire inspections including schools, churches, and apartment buildings, citizens were outraged at the city’s lack of consideration. However, conditions seemed to improve as fire training and safety led to better wildfire response. On the other hand, poor government action may contribute to the sheer magnitude of this outbreak. The LAFD Fire Chief, Kristin Crowley, pointed out that “the city cut more than $17 million of funding for the LAFD” (FOX Los Angeles). The budget cut took effect on January 1st of this year, a mere six days before the outbreak began.
The outbreak continues to ravage the communities of Los Angeles, while the effort to extinguish the fires and provide relief to those affected continues. It has been confirmed that the Kenneth Fire was purposefully started by an unidentified arsonist, while the cause of the Palisades and Eaton fires remain unknown (The Scientific American). The LAFD will continue to investigate the cause as the fires are extinguished. It is expected the fires will continue into next week, though containment measures become more effective. Furthermore, the death count is likely to rise as fires are extinguished and burned areas are investigated.
Please be advised that the information above is accurate as of January 17th, 2025.
