The Los Angeles wildfires, January 2025
Wind driven fires destroyed whole neighbourhoods of Los Angeles after months without rain, killing at least 27 people.
- Verified
- United States
- 7 January 2025
- Edition of 12 August 2026
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Evidence
7 figures, each threaded to its source
Area burned by the Palisades Fire
23,713acres
2 sources
“That fire has consumed 23,713 acres (96 sq km) or 37 square miles and stood at 11 percent contained”
Area burned by the Eaton Fire
14,117acres
2 sources
“The Eaton Fire scorched another 14,117 acres (57 sq km) or 22 square miles”
Confirmed deaths
27people
2 sources
“The death toll has risen to 27, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said on Thursday evening.”
Structures damaged or destroyed
12,000structures
“More than 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate, while 12,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed.”
Estimated damage and economic loss
150 billionUS dollars, upper estimate
“Private forecaster AccuWeather has meanwhile estimated the damage and economic loss at $135bn to $150bn.”
People under evacuation orders at peak
150,000people
“more than 100,000 people in Los Angeles County had been ordered to evacuate – down from a previous high of more than 150,000”
Firefighters deployed on the fires
5,000firefighters
“According to Cal Fire, more than 5,000 firefighters are fighting the fires”
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Background
On 7 January 2025 a brush fire broke out in Pacific Palisades, on the western edge of Los Angeles, during an extreme Santa Ana wind event. Hours later the Eaton Fire ignited in the hills above Altadena. Gusts at hurricane force drove both fires into neighbourhoods faster than crews could respond, and embers started spot fires far ahead of the flames. Southern California had seen no significant rain since the previous April, after two wet winters had grown thick grass and brush that then dried out completely. The Palisades Fire burned 23,713 acres and the Eaton Fire 14,117 acres, damaging or destroying about 12,000 structures between them, from beachfront homes in Malibu to modest bungalows in Altadena. At least 27 people died. More than 150,000 residents were under evacuation orders at the peak. Early estimates put damage and economic loss as high as 150 billion dollars, which would rank the fires among the costliest disasters in United States history, and investigators spent months examining how each fire began.
Causes
Santa Ana winds at hurricane force
Santa Ana winds blow when high pressure inland pushes air down towards the Californian coast. The air warms and dries as it descends and is squeezed through canyons, arriving as hot, dry gusts. In January 2025 gusts reached hurricane force, throwing embers far ahead of the fire fronts and grounding firefighting aircraft at the worst moments.
Drought after two wet winters
Two wet winters grew unusually thick grass and brush across the hills of Los Angeles. Then the rain stopped, and the region saw no significant rainfall from April through to January. By the time the fires started, the vegetation had dried into fine fuel, so any ignition in the wind could grow explosively.
Homes built into fire prone hills
Decades of building pushed houses deep into chaparral canyons where fire is a natural part of the ecosystem. Narrow winding streets slowed both evacuation and firefighting, and closely spaced timber framed homes let flames jump from building to building, so entire streets burned once the first structures caught.
Effects
Primary
- The Palisades Fire burned 23,713 acres and the Eaton Fire 14,117 acres.
- About 12,000 structures were damaged or destroyed, including homes, schools and places of worship.
- At least 27 people died, most of them in the Eaton Fire zone around Altadena.
- More than 150,000 people were placed under evacuation orders at the peak.
Secondary
- Smoke pushed dangerous air pollution across the city for days, closing schools far from the fires.
- Water systems in the burn zones were contaminated, and hydrant pressure failed during the first night.
- Tens of thousands of displaced households squeezed an already tight housing and rental market.
Social
- Whole communities in Altadena and Pacific Palisades lost homes, schools and churches at once.
- Older residents and uninsured families faced the hardest road back, and some never returned.
- Thousands of children changed schools mid year after their neighbourhoods burned.
Economic
- Early estimates put damage and economic loss at up to 150 billion dollars.
- Insurers faced enormous claims, deepening an existing insurance crisis in fire prone California.
- Businesses, film productions and tourism lost income during the fires and the long clean up.
Environmental
- Hillsides were stripped of vegetation, raising the risk of mudslides in later winter rains.
- Burned homes and vehicles left toxic ash and debris that took months to clear safely.
- Wildlife habitat in the Santa Monica Mountains and San Gabriel foothills was destroyed.
Responses
Immediate
- More than 5,000 firefighters fought the fires, with crews arriving from Mexico and Canada.
- Aircraft dropped water and retardant whenever the winds allowed flying.
- Evacuation orders moved more than 150,000 people out of danger at the peak.
- A task force was set up against looting and fraud, and shelters opened for displaced residents.
Long term
- Investigators examined the causes, including whether utility equipment started the Eaton Fire.
- Debris removal and rebuilding programmes began, with permits fast tracked for burned neighbourhoods.
- The fires intensified debate about insurance, building rules and where the city should rebuild at all.
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