On Jan. 7, 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the Palisades wildfire that continues to burn as of Jan. 26. Though firefighters have contained 84% of the Palisades fires, it is only one of five major ongoing fires in California, with some new fires erupting as late as last week.
Over 283 wildfires have destroyed over 89 square miles of land in the state of California since the new year began. Many of the ongoing fires are in Southern California, with the Palisades, Eaton and Hughes Fires all taking place in Los Angeles. Together, the fires have burned 73 square miles in LA county alone. At least 28 people have died as a result of these fires, with thousands more evacuating and losing their homes.
“The powerful winds fueling the wildfires are known as the Santa Ana winds, which flow out of the Great Basin in Nevada and Utah toward the Southern California coast. These winds push dry desert air over the mountains and accelerate as they blow into canyons and valleys,” according to the New York Times.
Over the past few weeks, the California government has issued warnings and evacuation orders, to keep people updated on what to do and where to go next. A warning means residents should be aware of a potential threat and prepare to leave. An evacuation order means an immediate threat is present, and residents should leave now.
The Palisades Fire
The first of the major wildfires of this year, the Palisades Fire, is the most destructive wildfire in the history of LA county. According to California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Palisades Fire has destroyed at least 5,300 homes and forced more than 100,000 residents to evacuate the area.
The fire began the morning of Jan. 7, 2025, with its cause still under investigation. According to the California government’s website, aerial imagery overlays show approximately 7,700 structures may have been damaged or destroyed. As of Jan. 25, the California government has reported 11 civilian fatalities, three civilian injuries and one firefighter injury.
The Palisades Fire is the largest ongoing wildfire, burning more than 36 square miles of land, according to the New York Times.
The Eaton Fire
The Eaton Fire, tearing through LA county and the outskirts of Pasadena, California, began late Jan. 7. Though firefighters have contained 95% of this wildfire, the Eaton Fire has claimed 17 civilian fatalities and injured 9 firefighters. Officials have tallied 9,418 structures destroyed, and 1,073 structures damaged so far.
The Hughes Fire
The Hughes Fire began on the morning of Jan. 22, and is slowly approaching the Santa Clarita area. In just two hours since its start, the Hughes Fire grew to over seven square miles of land. As of Jan. 24, firefighters have contained 90% of the fires according to the LA Times.
As of Jan. 25, firefighters have contained 24% of the Hughes Fire. The Hughes Fire has burned approximately 16 square miles acres of land. The fire is burning around Castaic Lake, which is north of Santa Clarita.
“It was really the aircraft, in addition to all of those ground resources, which allowed us to get the upper hand,” said LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone at an evening news conference. “Had you been here a few hours ago, the situation looked much different, and it certainly looked much more aggressive.”
The Border 2 Fire
The Border 2 Fire broke out on Jan. 23, in the Otay Mountain Wilderness, near the California-Mexico border, and Northwest of Otay Mountain. The fire has since grown to over 6,000 acres (9 square miles) and only about 10% is contained. A smoke advisory is in effect for Otay Mesa, El Cajon, Alpine, Pine Valley, Jamul and surrounding areas.
The Laguna Fire
The newest of the wildfires, the Laguna Fire burned 93.5 acres (0.15 square miles) in Ventura county, though it was only pegged to be about 3 acres at first. Firefighters have contained 98% of the fire as of Saturday, Jan. 24. No structures have been damaged, nor have there been any reports of casualties or injuries, according to the LA Times.
This bushfire broke out just miles from California State University’s Channel Island campus. The Channel Islands campus sits amid hills, agricultural fields and a small neighborhood of homes and apartments.
The fire forced hundreds from the Channel Islands campus and the University Glenn neighborhood to evacuate. Officials have since downgraded the evacuation order, but classes have remained canceled, and only authorized employees are allowed to return to the university as of Jan. 23.
“Firefighters are aggressively attacking the fire from the air and ground with additional resources assessing and mitigating any potential structure threats in the immediate area,” Ventura County Fire officials said on social media.
How Others Are Helping
Thousands of LA county residents have joined together to help those affected or displaced by the fires. So many volunteers have showed up to help their communities that many local charities have had to turn away volunteers.
On Jan. 11, 72 firefighters from Mexico arrived in California to help fight the wildfires in LA county. The group included a mix of doctors, engineers and search-and-rescue personnel.
On Jan. 12, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, sharing his country’s willingness to help fight the same fires, stating that there were 150 ready firefighters.
As of the week of Jan. 20, more than 60 Canadian firefighters arrived in LA, bringing along technical specialists expected to stay in the United States for at least two weeks.
How You Can Help
California Community Foundation: https://www.calfund.org/
California Fire Foundation: https://www.cafirefoundation.org/what-we-do/for-communities/disaster-relief
All Hands and Hearts: https://www.allhandsandhearts.org/storm-tracker/los-angeles-california-wildfires-january-2025/
Americares: https://www.americares.org/
World Central Kitchen: https://wck.org/
League of California Community Foundation: https://lccf.org/disaster-relief-funds/
