Three major fires have started up in Los Angeles, with the largest being the Palisades fire, as well as the Eaton and Hurst fires. While other fires have managed to be somewhat contained, the Palisades and Eaton fires loomed larger. There are currently 18 people missing and 28 dead as of January 17th.
The Palisades fire has burned over 20,000 acres so far, and firefighters are struggling to ward off the flames. The cause of the fires is speculated to be due to extremely strong offshore winds. “Wind gusts topping 70 mph were recorded at several locations across the region,” stated NBC. Which is what spreads the fires. This combined with Southern California having less than 10% of average rainfall since October caused the fires to start and be quickly spread by the strong wind.
It has also been revealed by that the top commanders decided to not send firefighters in advance which led to the fire becoming an intensified issue. “Top commanders decided not to assign for emergency deployment roughly 1,000 available firefighters and dozens of water-carrying engines in advance of the fire that destroyed much of the Pacific Palisades,” according to the LA Times. If further precautions and preventive actions were taken it could’ve tamed the Palisades fire and kept it at bay. “Fire officials chose not to order the firefighters to remain on duty for a second shift last Tuesday as the winds were building,” said the LA Times.
Insurance companies have also dropped wildfire insurance. “The fires hit just as a big policy change was taking place in California. New regulations allow insurers to base premiums on “forward-looking models of climate risk instead of historical data,” said NPR. The fires have done extensive damage to neighborhoods, and have caused immense destruction. These fires have devastated the Greater Los Angeles area on an unimaginable scale.
