On Tuesday, as a series of aggressive wildfires began ripping through Southern California, I found myself having an unlikely reaction: the desire to be there. I mean this not as a thrill seeker or fire follower but rather as someone who wanted to go home. I have lived in Los Angeles since 1991, when I moved from New York. My wife and I raised our family in Los Angeles, and in June my father entered an assisted-living facility in Pasadena, not far from what is now the Eaton fire evacuation zone. On Tuesday evening, I spoke with him by phone from Manhattan, where I have been this week. He was frightened and uncertain. This is my father’s first go-round as a California resident, and he is right to be afraid. The state has a long history of wildfires, but the [speed, size](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk5737) and cost of such fires have grown exponentially in recent years in large part because of climate change, with especially devastating results in the areas where undeveloped land meets homes and other structures. January is an unusual time for wildfires in California. But last year’s wet winter led to an increase in plant growth, followed by a record hot summer, [a fall and winter dry spell](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-08/los-angeles-fires-and-winter-drought-likely-linked-to-ocean-heat?sref=B3uFyqJT) likely linked to warmer oceans and now an [extreme wind event](https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/01/this-weeks-unholy-mix-of-drought-wind-and-fire-in-southern-california/) with gusts peaking at 80 to 100 miles per hour in some areas on Wednesday. And so dry brush and grass have combusted in Altadena and Pacific Palisades, as well as along the Pacific Coast Highway, where several Malibu landmarks, including the Reel Inn, a popular seafood restaurant, have reportedly been destroyed. Dangerous wildfires and other kinds of disasters have long been part of the vernacular in Southern California. It is impossible to live there without being aware of the vast forces, incendiary and otherwise, that continue to shape the landscape; in every way that matters, they make the place what it is. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F09%2Fopinion%2Fla-wildfires-los-angeles-palisades.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F09%2Fopinion%2Fla-wildfires-los-angeles-palisades.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F09%2Fopinion%2Fla-wildfires-los-angeles-palisades.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F09%2Fopinion%2Fla-wildfires-los-angeles-palisades.html).

Even in a state that has become accustomed to severe conflagrations, the rapid surge of [wildfire](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/us-wildfires) that has [torched the Los Angeles area](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/08/more-la-residents-flee-wildfires-amid-warning-of-stronger-winds-in-morning) has been shocking, triggering mass evacuations that have left behind charred suburban homes. A series of fires have consumed about 42 sq miles (110 sq km) of land, including one raging in the western Pacific Palisades and another in the eastern mountains above Pasadena, where [five deaths](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/08/more-la-residents-flee-wildfires-amid-warning-of-stronger-winds-in-morning) have been recorded. [Los Angeles fire extent map](https://interactive.guim.co.uk/uploader/embed/2025/01/laburnedareas-zip/giv-4559TS35yb1hR2R8/) Roughly 130,000 people are under evacuation orders in the US’s second-largest city. [Los Angeles fire evacuation warnings](https://interactive.guim.co.uk/uploader/embed/2025/01/laevacuations-zip/giv-4559xdUYw7Pl15CC/) [Gavin Newsom](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gavin-newsom), the governor of [California](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/california), called the situation “unprecedented” as he ordered 1,400 firefighters to help quell the blazes. The fires [caused](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/08/how-long-can-i-stay-families-tell-of-last-minute-escape-from-california-wildfire) the skies to turn a dystopian orange, cut power to several hundred thousand people, triggered panicked getaways that caused cars to pile up in the roads, and incinerated scores of homes, including those of [Hollywood film stars](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jan/09/celebrities-lose-homes-destroyed-california-fires-billy-crystal-cary-elwes-eugene-levy) in Malibu. [A video of structures and hillsides engulfed in burning flames](https://interactive.guim.co.uk/embed/from-tool/looping-video/index.html?poster-image=https%3A%2F%2Fuploads.guim.co.uk%2F2025%2F01%2F08%2F240108CaliUGC.00_00_00_00.Still001.jpg&mp4-video=https%3A%2F%2Fuploads.guim.co.uk%2F2025%2F01%2F08%2FHousesFireLoop2.mp4) [Fire damage in Altadena](https://interactive.guim.co.uk/uploader/embed/2025/01/altadena-zip/giv-4559ZSkU2W2AcPhF/) While fire is not new to California, several factors have helped fan the flames, leading to “one of the most significant fire outbreaks in history”, according to Ariel Cohen, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in [Los Angeles](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/los-angeles), who spoke of an impending “catastrophe”. He said: “I’m pleading with everyone: if you receive that evacuation order, take it seriously. Your life depends on it.” So why have the fires been so bad? Powerful Santa Ana winds can stoke sparks ----------------------------------------- The fires have been spread at an express pace by fierce winds that have hit 80mph, even getting to 100mph in some mountainous areas. California’s cooler months often bring [what are known as Santa Ana winds](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/08/what-are-the-santa-ana-devil-winds-los-angeles-wildfires-southern-california-fires), which are the strong, dry gusts that blow in from the US’s vast western desert interior to southern California. These winds provide dry, warm air that pushes towards the coast, the opposite of the usual moist air blowing in from the Pacific Ocean to the region. This causes humidity to drop, helping dry out fire-prone vegetation and spurring flames. The Santa Ana winds have in the past contributed to some of California’s worst fires. “This is a particularly dangerous situation – in other words, this is about as bad as it gets in terms of fire weather,” the National Weather Service said before the latest [Los Angeles](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/los-angeles) blazes. [Map of California and Nevada showing estimated sustained wind speeds](https://interactive.guim.co.uk/uploader/embed/2025/01/californiawindspeeds-zip/giv-4559jv1ktfTWcVN3/) The wind also exacerbated another problem, when the water tanks supplying Pacific Palisades – where the largest of the fires broke out – [ran dry](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/08/los-angeles-palisade-fire-water-tanks-empty). Three 1m-gallon tanks serve the neighborhood, but urban water systems are not designed to fight wildfires, and after heavy firefighting efforts in the early hours of Wednesday morning they had been depleted. But the winds grounded all firefighting aircraft by 7pm Tuesday. Only by Wednesday afternoon were Los Angeles fire department helicopters allowed to resume dropping water on the fire from above. Dry conditions follow the wet ----------------------------- Along with the strong winds, recent conditions in southern California have added literal fuel to the fire. Two winters of heavy rainfall, particularly in 2022 and 2023, caused vegetation to sprout across the Los Angeles region, but this winter has been exceptionally dry, with much of southern California locked in drought. [Map of California showing the drought conditions](https://interactive.guim.co.uk/uploader/embed/2025/01/california-droughtmap/giv-4559ThiXPjXJzI7C) This means that there are plenty of trees, grasses and shrubs to catch fire and most of them are parched of water, meaning they combust more readily. While northern California has received plenty of rain this winter, there is a “remarkable” precipitation divide in the state, [according](https://weatherwest.com/archives/43171) to climate scientist Daniel Swain, with parts of southern California having their driest periods in more than 150 years. “It is truly a matter of the precipitation ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ at the moment and there is no real prospect for this to change in the short term,” Swain said. “Even in the long term, it remains possible this overall dipole persists for the rest of the season, though hopefully with less extreme intensity.” [Los Angeles rainfall chart.](https://interactive.guim.co.uk/uploader/embed/2025/01/la-rainfallchart/giv-45595gJns2KB1SEG) The climate crisis is bringing the heat --------------------------------------- While the collision of high winds and dry conditions have worsened the fires scorching Los Angeles, the influence of the climate crisis is making such blazes more common and devastating. Until just two years ago, California was in the teeth of a decades-long drought that was part of a broader “mega drought” across the US that researchers estimate was the [worst in at least 1,200 years](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/15/us-west-megadrought-worst-1200-years-study). Rising global temperatures, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, have caused an increase in “fire weather” days owing to the drying out of vegetation and soils and lowered humidity.  Timelapse shows wildfires rapidly burning across California mountains – video Fires in the US west are becoming more frequent and larger, scientists [have found](https://science.nasa.gov/earth/natural-disasters/wildfires/six-trends-to-know-about-fire-season-in-the-western-us/), with the climate emergency raising the risk of fast-moving fires [by around 25% in California](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06444-3). Ten of the largest California wildfires have occurred in the last two decades, with five of these fires occurring in 2020 alone. Researchers [have calculated](https://www.drought.gov/news/study-finds-climate-change-blame-record-breaking-california-wildfires-2023-08-08) that the human-caused climate emergency has contributed to a 172% increase in California’s burned areas since the 1970s, with a further spread expected in the decades ahead.

[JPM\-0.02%](https://qz.com/quote/JPM)[NWSA\-0.47%](https://qz.com/quote/NWSA)[MORN+0.41%](https://qz.com/quote/MORN)[PARA\-2.30%](https://qz.com/quote/PARA)[MCO+1.75%](https://qz.com/quote/MCO) Although fires are still raging in Southern California, economists are already estimating that the January blazes could end up as the most expensive fire event in history. AccuWeather, a commercial weather forecaster, [estimated](https://www.accuweather.com/en/blogs-webinars/california-wildfires-52-57b-damage-estimate-accuweather-report/1731718#google_vignette) late on Wednesday that the wildfires could cost between $52 billion and $57 billion. JPMorgan ([JPM\-0.02%](https://qz.com/quote/JPM)) [pinned](https://www.wsj.com/us-news/los-angeles-fires-recovery-costs-billions-12201ee5) the damages at close to $50 billion, including more than $20 billion in insured losses, the Wall Street Journal ([NWSA\-0.47%](https://qz.com/quote/NWSA)) [reported](https://www.wsj.com/us-news/los-angeles-fires-recovery-costs-billions-12201ee5) Thursday. Morningstar DBRS ([MORN+0.41%](https://qz.com/quote/MORN)) has [estimated](https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/445636) total insured losses of more than $8 billion. AccuWeather notes that the total damage and economic loss from the wildfires that ravaged Maui last year — and resulted in the [deadliest wildfire](https://qz.com/maui-wildfires-deadliest-in-us-100-years-1850734206) the U.S. has seen in more than a century — was between $13 billion and $16 billion. By insured losses, the most expensive wildfire in U.S. history was the 2018 Camp Fire, which destroyed [more than 18,000 structures](https://www.buttecounty.net/342/Camp-Fire) and cost [more than $12 billion](https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2019/release041-19.cfm). “This is already one of the worst wildfires in California history,” Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather’s head meteorologist, said in a statement. “Should a large number of additional structures be burned in the coming days, it may become the worst wildfire in modern California history based on the number of structures burned and economic loss.” More than 45 square miles have been scorched by the wildfires, and 179,000 people have been put under evacuation orders. At least five people have died, although officials [believe](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-09/even-after-a-two-day-nightmare-l-a-girds-for-more-days-of-fire-weather) the death toll is likely higher. According to [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/california-windstorm-fuels-pacific-palisades-wildfire-as-residents-flee-live-updates/), more than 1,300 structures have already burned, and the blazes threaten more than 60,000 structures. The cost of the wildfires is likely to add pressure to what the state’s top insurance official called California’s “[insurance crisis](https://insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2024/release062-2024.cfm),” caused by regulations that — according to the state’s insurance department — led to “rate spikes and ballooning premiums.” As wildfires have [gotten worse](https://www.wri.org/insights/global-trends-forest-fires) around the world, insurers have been more wary about exposure. “These events will continue to have widespread, negative impacts for the state’s broader insurance market—increased recovery costs will likely drive up premiums and may reduce property insurance availability,” Moody’s Rating analyst Denise Rappmund said in a statement. In 2023, State Farm said it would stop [offering home insurance](https://apnews.com/article/california-wildfire-insurance-e31bef0ed7eeddcde096a5b8f2c1768f) to new customers in California, as did Allstate ([ALL+3.10%](https://qz.com/quote/ALL)), partially citing the increased risk of wildfires. Last March, State Farm said it would stop renewing coverage for about 30,000 clients, [citing](https://newsroom.statefarm.com/update-on-california/) financial hits caused by inflation and “catastrophe exposure.” E&E News [reported](https://www.eenews.net/articles/californias-insurer-of-last-resort-is-a-ticking-time-bomb/) last year that seven of California’s 12 largest property insurers had limited coverage. Meanwhile, the use of California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan, a state insurance program that provides basic coverage, has exploded. The total number of new dwelling and commercial policies grew by [137%](https://www.cfpnet.com/key-statistics-data/#:~:text=Over%20the%20past%20two%20fiscal,prior%20fiscal%20year%2Dend).) between September 2023 and September 2024. Total exposure over that time grew 61% to $458 billion. “It’s a ticking time bomb,” Michael D’Arelli, executive director of the American Agents Alliance, an insurance agents’ association, said at a March hearing. “We are going to have a major event and meltdown.”

When a devastating wildfire hit California in November 2018, a powerful CEO went on Twitter to [ask how his company could help](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1061123924354875393). That CEO’s name was Elon Musk. What a difference six years can make. The contrast between Musk’s 2018 tweet and his response to [the infernos currently raging through Southern California](https://www.fastcompany.com/91257212/la-wildfires-rage-evacuations-homes-destroyed) is stark. This time, he has mostly used his platform throughout the disaster to attack some familiar targets—[Democratic politicians](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1877005434621415607), [deregulation](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1876997822349807696), and, incredibly, [DEI](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1877224004680843539). The pronounced change in Musk’s online behavior during a crisis reflects a broader evolution, though. Once considered an environmental crusader for making electric cars seem cool, the Tesla CEO now [mocks the very idea](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1877118231581716810) that climate change could play a major role in historical California wildfires arriving in the middle of winter. The scope of the fires’ damage is, so far, enormous. [As the _New York Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01/09/us/california-fires-los-angeles) reports, the Palisades and Eaton fires are already the two most destructive ever to hit Los Angeles. The blazes have [killed at least five people](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01/09/us/california-fires-los-angeles) as of this writing, and forced tens of thousands to evacuate, while burning up more than 27,000 acres and 2,000 structures. According to [scientists](https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/wildfires/what-fueled-la-fires-dry-conditions-wind-rcna186801), climate change is playing a role by “altering rainfall patterns and making droughts both more likely and more intense.” What reportedly created the conditions for the fires’ rapid spread is Southern California’s unusual dryness during 2024, with [only .29 inches of rain since last May](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/southern-california-wildfires-what-are-santa-ana-winds), along with hurricane-force Santa Ana winds that [reached speeds of more than 75 mph](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/southern-california-wildfires-what-are-santa-ana-winds). Extreme dryness makes fires more likely to spark, and robust winds help them spread easier. Complicating matters, the howling winds on Tuesday forced the Los Angeles Fire Department to [ground the aircraft](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-07/pacific-palisades-fire-winds-overnight) they typically use for aerial firefighting. All of these factors help explain how a flurry of wildfires could rage out of control during [what is typically California’s rainy season](https://abc7.com/post/whats-store-californias-new-water-year-experts-say-prepare-extreme-weather-swings/15362067/#:~:text=Typically%2C%20fall%20rain%20starts%20in,when%20we%20see%20peak%20snowpack.). Musk, however, had some alternate theories about what caused so much destruction. He went on a retweeting blitz, cosigning wild accusations about various Democrats and conspiracy theories about California’s water reserves. Particularly alarming was [Musk’s focus on DEI](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1877025171241918702), suggesting that the L.A. fire department’s “racial equity plan” contributed to the devastation. Firefighters working hard to put out powerful blazes were faced with racial hostility flowing in their direction from some of Musk’s 211.7 million followers on X. Expand to continue reading ↓

More than 1,400 firefighters have been deployed in California to deal with the [“unprecedented” wildfires](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/07/california-windstorm-fire-risk) in and around Los Angeles, according to the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom. Tens of thousands of California residents have been placed under evacuation orders as firefighters work on three separate major wildfires – the Palisades, the Eaton and the Hurst fires – which between them cover nearly 4,500 acres of land. We would like to hear from people in the US about the impact of the wildfires. Have you been affected by the recent fires? How are you coping? We would like to hear about your experiences. **Though we’d like to hear from you, your safety and security are most important. When recording** **or sharing your content with us, please put your welfare and the welfare of others first. [Extreme weather](https://www.theguardian.com/world/extreme-weather) events can be very unpredictable and carry very real risks.** Your responses, which can be anonymous, are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. We will only use the data you provide us for the purpose of the feature and we will delete any personal data when we no longer require it for this purpose. For true anonymity please use our [SecureDrop](https://www.theguardian.com/securedrop) service instead.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to assist those affected by the devastating wildfires in [California](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/california), with 150 Ukrainian firefighters ready to go. The offer by the Ukrainian president comes three days after Donald Trump Jr, son of US president-elect Donald Trump, responded to the [Los Angeles](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/los-angeles) wildfires by appearing to [blame Ukraine on social media.](https://x.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1877039101813149928) “Oh look of course the LA fire department donated a bunch of their supplies to Ukraine,” Trump Jr said in a post on X on 8 January. If deployed, Ukrainian firefighters would join those sent by Canada and Mexico, who have already converged on the Los Angeles area to help fire departments from around the state, even as Trump has threatened to levy tariffs against both countries. On Sunday, Zelenskyy said in a post on X: “Today, I instructed Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs and our diplomats to prepare for the possible participation of our rescuers in combating the wildfires in California.  'This is what friends do' says California governor, as Mexican firefighters land in LA – video “The situation there is extremely difficult, and Ukrainians can help Americans save lives. This is currently being coordinated, and we have offered our assistance to the American side through the relevant channels. 150 of our firefighters are already prepared.” Firefighters managed to make progress on several smaller fires in southern California over the weekend, but two big blazes, the Palisades fire and the Eaton fire, are yet to be contained after burning for six days straight. The wildfires have reduced entire Los Angeles neighbourhoods to ash, killing at least 16 people, and forcing more than 150,000 to evacuate. The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, said the fires could be the most devastating natural disaster in US history. Strengthening winds threaten to expand the swath of destruction through Los Angeles in the coming days. On Saturday morning, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on X: “The humanitarian aid group is leaving for Los Angeles, California,” alongside photos of firefighters holding the flags of Mexico and California and standing on the runway in front of two planes. “We are a country of generosity and solidarity,” she added. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/13/zelenskyy-offers-ukraines-help-to-fight-california-wildfires-after-trump-jr-post#img-2) A team of firefighters sent by Mexico to California to help teams battling the raging wildfires arrive in Los Angeles, California, on Saturday. Photograph: Office of Governor Gavin Newsom/Reuters Newsom thanked Mexico in a message on X posted on Friday after the deployment was announced. “California is deeply grateful for President Sheinbaum’s support as we work to suppress the Los Angeles wildfires,” he wrote. Crews from California and nine other states are part of the ongoing response that includes nearly 1,400 fire engines, 84 aircraft and more than 14,000 personnel, including those from Mexico. Hundreds of inmates from California’s prison system [were also helping firefighting efforts](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/08/la-wildfires-incarcerated-firefighters). Nearly 950 incarcerated firefighters were dispatched “to cut fire lines and remove fuel to slow fire spread,” according to an update from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Though the state has long relied on prison labor to fight fires, the practice is controversial as the inmates are paid little for dangerous and difficult work. _With Reuters_

Five wildfires in Los Angeles have already [burned more than 10,000 structures](https://www.yahoo.com/news/devastating-la-fires-expected-push-225639898.html), threatening to upend California's fragile balance between [climate risk and home insurance](https://news.slashdot.org/story/23/05/31/2346230/climate-crisis-makes-it-impossible-for-some-us-residents-to-get-home-insurance). The Palisades Fire has damaged or destroyed more than 5,000 buildings in an area that liability experts had previously identified as one of three particularly vulnerable regions in the state. JPMorgan Chase estimates insured damages [could reach $20 billion](https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-los-angeles-wildfires-insurance/), positioning this as likely the costliest wildfire in U.S. history. The crisis comes as California's insurance market struggles, with seven of the 12 biggest home insurers having limited their coverage in the state over the past two years. The state-backed insurer of last resort, the California FAIR Plan, now faces exposure of up to $458 billion, while holding only $200 million in surplus cash reserves and $2.5 billion in reinsurance. Gusts of up to 100 miles per hour have fanned the flames, with more than 57,000 structures in severe danger and more than 150,000 people under evacuation.

Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish are reported to be headlining this month’s benefit concert to raise money for those affected by the [California wildfires](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/california-wildfires). According to the [Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/billie-eilish-lady-gaga-jelly-roll-perform-fireaid-benefit-concert-la-wildfire-1236110950/), the lineup for the FireAid benefit concert also includes Jelly Roll, Lil Baby, Tate McRae and Gwen Stefani. Acts also listed yet not officially confirmed by [TMZ](https://www.tmz.com/2025/01/16/los-angeles-wildfire-fireaid-concert-features-lady-gaga-billie-eilish-and-red-hot-chili-peppers/) include the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day and Gracie Abrams with more names to be added. It’s scheduled to take place on 30 January. The wildfires, which started earlier this month, have taken a devastating toll on California with [a death toll of 25](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/15/california-wildfires-warnings-los-angeles) and a further 38 missing. More than 12,000 structures have been either destroyed or damaged. FireAid was announced last week with partners Live Nation, AEG and the Azoff Company. The concert will take place at the Intuit Dome, the home venue of the Los Angeles Clippers. Proceeds will “focus on rebuilding infrastructure, supporting displaced families and advancing fire prevention technologies and strategies”. The Eagles have already [donated](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/eagles-donate-2-5-million-191138310.html) $2.5m towards the event. It is unclear yet if they will also be performing. Back in 2018, Lady Gaga worked with the Red Cross to [deliver pizzas](https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/lady-gaga-delivered-pizza-coffee-california-wildfire-evacuees/story?id=59187551) to those affected by wildfires after she was also [forced to evacuate](https://people.com/music/lady-gaga-documents-fire-evacuation-malibu/) her Malibu home. Stefani also [started](https://people.com/celebrity/gwen-stefani-helping-wildfire-victims/) a college-scholarship fund for students affected by wildfires back in 2007. Eilish has already spoken about this year’s wildfires, urging her followers to help support a number of non-profits. “While our family is safe, many of the people and communities we love have endured devastating loss,” she wrote on Instagram. “Altadena in particular is very close to our hearts ... it was the backyard of our childhoods, and the families, businesses, nonprofits, and musicians there remain cornerstones in our lives.” Celebrities who have donated major sums toward relief efforts include Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Lee Curtis. “This is literally where I live – everything, the market I shop in, the schools my kids go to,” she said. “Friends, many, many, many, many, many friends, now have lost their homes.”

Beth Pratt has spent her career protecting Los Angeles’ mountain lions, which roam an area currently engulfed by wildfires. These apex predators, also known as cougars or pumas, share a scrubby landscape with lavish private homes and a dense network of roads. When major fires take out huge areas of open space, their options are limited. “This is the LA area – these mountain lions can’t move into the Kardashians’ back yard,” says Pratt, [California](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/california) executive director for the National Wildlife Federation. “My heart is very heavy right now,” she says. The chaparral vegetation, which covers [about 10%](https://www.geographyrealm.com/chaparral-california/) of the state of California, creates one of the most flammable landscapes in the world. It is characterised by grasslands, shrubs and short woody species designed to come back to life after the planet’s most intense wildfires. [](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/16/fleeing-mountain-lions-scorched-earth-can-wildlife-survive-california-wildfires-aoe#img-2) Areas that once provided mountain lions with food and shelter have been reduced to ashes. Photograph: Kpa/Zuma/Shutterstock In LA, wealthy suburbs sprawl into these habitats, and roads and development block the animals’ ability to flee elsewhere. If they haven’t already died in the flames or from smoke inhalation, they may starve over the coming days and weeks, as the land is transformed from a vibrant ecosystem into scorched earth. “Areas that did provide food, shelter, habitat, are being taken out of commission,” says Pratt. The impact of the wildfires will “reverberate throughout all life”, she says. Human losses have been devastating, with [88,000 people](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/14/la-fire-edison-lawsuit-looting-arrests#:~:text=More%20than%2012%2C000%20structures%20had,costliest%20fire%20in%20American%20history.&text=At%20least%20two%20dozen%20people,six%20around%20the%20Pacific%20Palisades.) told to evacuate their homes as the death toll [rises to 25](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2025/jan/14/la-california-fires-los-angeles-live-wildfire-map-warning-evacuation-latest-news?page=with:block-678700e18f08cb23ad2f023e), and the effects will also ripple through the non-human world. Worst affected are endangered species with a limited range, and species that can’t flee the flames. Biologists are particularly concerned about threatened red-legged frogs, which were reintroduced into some streams in the Santa Monica mountains in 2014. The [Woolsey fire in 2018](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/04/california-wildfires-paradise-malibu-wealth-class) was followed by mudslides which wiped out much of the habitat, and scientists are waiting to see what the damage will be this time. The habitat of California newts has also been severely affected during these latest fires. [](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/16/fleeing-mountain-lions-scorched-earth-can-wildlife-survive-california-wildfires-aoe#img-3) Beth Pratt, of the National Wildlife Federation, is dedicated to protecting mountain lions. Photograph: Beth Pratt Reptiles and snakes are likely to be killed. Mammals might escape, but could struggle to set up elsewhere or find food while the ecosystem recovers. Birds are likely to survive, unless they are nesting or looking after young. Although the landscape looks devastated, within the coming weeks nature should start to re-emerge as fresh shoots start appearing from the soil and wildlife returns. “It looks like Armageddon now,” says Prof Stefan Doerr from Swansea University, who is co-editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Wildland Fire. However, new life is waiting in the wings. Even in raging fires, life an inch under the surface of the soil can stay relatively cool, so seeds can often survive and later germinate. “The chaparral ecosystem in California is actually a fire-adapted ecosystem, thus burning maintains its biodiversity,” says Doerr. He says the shrub vegetation will probably take about 10 years to recover, depending on rainfall in the coming years. Grasses could start to sprout within weeks of the first rain. Fire [records suggest](https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.70128#:~:text=Native%20chaparral%20species%20that%20experience,elimination%20of%20native%20shrub%20regeneration.) the landscape is adapted to high-intensity burning every 30 to 100 years. “This is one of the most flammable ecosystems on the planet. This may sound very strange, but from a longer-term ecological perspective, as such, these fires may not be particularly damaging,” Doerr says. [](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/16/fleeing-mountain-lions-scorched-earth-can-wildlife-survive-california-wildfires-aoe#img-4) The Palisades fire has burned about 23,000 acres of land. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images He says that at specific locations the fire may seem extremely damaging to the ecosystem in the short term, but at a large scale, highly destructive fires can “rejuvenate this ecosystem”. Prof Rory Hadden, chair of fire science at the University of Edinburgh, agrees. “The nature part of the story often gets lost in this. Everyone sees these as bad things, but actually, wildfires are necessary in some parts of the world to have healthy, vibrant and diverse ecosystems.” Because these fires have been so intense, the area is unlikely to burn in such a way for 20 years or more – all the fuel has been used up, Hadden says. “They are kind of a reset on the ecosystem.” Research shows, however, that California’s ecosystems are [increasingly threatened](https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bes2.1460) by human population growth, expanding urban areas, warming temperatures and droughts lasting multiple years. [](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/16/fleeing-mountain-lions-scorched-earth-can-wildlife-survive-california-wildfires-aoe#img-5) Stefan Doerr says the fires maintain biodiversity. Photograph: Stefan Doerr In recent times, low-severity fires have been happening [more frequently](https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.70128#) in many California shrub ecosystems, mainly due to human ignitions and severe weather conditions. Some locations have burned up to six times in the past 30 years. “This has actually degraded this ecosystem in something that is untypical,” says Doerr. From a purely ecological perspective, he says, “some people would say that, actually, what we’ve been lacking is a high-severity fire”. Conditions are particularly extreme this time, and this is likely to have been exacerbated by “climate swings”, says Hadden. Fires grew quickly and there was a lot of vegetation to burn because last year was a wet year, which then dried out during the drought. [Officials flagged](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/13/palisades-california-wildfires-fireworks) that the Santa Ana winds were particularly dangerous because there had been no rainfall for months, with high levels of plant material creating a “recipe for fire”. By Monday, the Palisades fire had burned about [23,000 acres](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/13/palisades-california-wildfires-fireworks) (9,000 hectares), the Eaton fire 14,000 acres, and the Hurst fire 800 acres. The August complex fire in 2020 was [more than 25 times](https://34c031f8-c9fd-4018-8c5a-4159cdff6b0d-cdn-endpoint.azureedge.net/-/media/calfire-website/our-impact/fire-statistics/top-20-largest-ca-wildfires.pdf?rev=097f901c128347149e2614f2fca4f546&hash=27DDE83DFEF9A69E67C73765892A2B75) bigger. [ 10 ways the climate crisis and nature loss are linked ](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/29/10-ways-in-which-climate-crisis-and-nature-are-linked-aoe) In the coming weeks, ash from the wildfire should provide protection to the soil and nutrients for plants to regrow. But Imma Oliveras Menor, a researcher in disturbance ecology at the University of Oxford, says that although these ecosystems have strategies to survive after intense wildfires, the severity of this one could inhibit this process. “The main danger is that the intensity of the fires has killed the below-ground organs of the plants and thus killed them. Another plausible scenario is that the intensity of the fires has caused severe damage to the soil structure,” she says. If landscapes are highly denuded by fire and then there is heavy rainfall or high winds, this can lead to soil erosion, landslides and water contamination. It is impossible to assess the damage while the fires are still raging, she says. When the embers have finished burning, Pratt will be keeping an eye on what wildlife returns to the area, and whether mountain lions will have been able to hold on elsewhere. “The habitat will come back, of course, but it may come back differently,” she says. [](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/16/fleeing-mountain-lions-scorched-earth-can-wildlife-survive-california-wildfires-aoe#img-6) A mountain lion footprint in South Hills Park, a wilderness area in Glendora, California. Photograph: Edward Chaidez/Getty Images

It is often said that climate disasters are great equalizers. They rip through neighborhoods, rich and poor, devastating communities and upending lives without discriminating between them. But it is, of course, not that simple. As the wildfires blaze through Southern California, class divides are as evident as ever. It is true that even [the rich and famous could not spare their homes](https://www.businessinsider.com/la-wildfire-pacific-palisades-malibu-celebrities-neighborhood-a-listers-2025-1) from burning to the ground. But it is also true that while most residents have to wait for public assistance, the wealthy have more resources to come to their rescue. Private firefighters, for example, have been in high demand​​ — in some cases, even [protecting individual mansions to prevent the fires](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/12/us/private-firefighters-la-wildfires.html) from touching them. One real estate investor pleaded for help on social media, asking if anyone has access to private firefighters that could save his home. “Will pay any amount,” [he wrote on X](https://www.yahoo.com/news/wealthy-l-investor-blasted-seeking-013726840.html). No matter how much money you have, natural disasters can still be unforgiving, and losing a home is always a tragedy. But once the fires finally go out, [inequality will almost certainly rise](https://apnews.com/article/california-wildfire-pacific-palisades-pasadena-altadena-inequality-63ea76d186740359f7f5dd188896354f) because of the class divides that are already entrenched in Los Angeles. Rich people will be able to rebuild their homes and neighborhoods, while middle- and low-income families might be permanently displaced. [Studies](https://aag.secure-platform.com/aag2024/gallery/rounds/74/details/52775) of [past California wildfires](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016920462300316X) have shown that they drove gentrification — something that [Hawaii residents have been dealing with](https://apnews.com/article/maui-hawaii-fire-climate-gentrification-housing-displacement-aa827eabef48d2764aa58d01f7a6969c) since deadly wildfires ravaged through residential areas on Maui. Already, [there have been reports](https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/los-angeles-palisades-fire-housing-rent-price-gouging-law-california-zillow-listing) of landlords [hiking rents in and around Los Angeles](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/10/business/california-fires-rent-price-gouging.html), despite the fact that dramatically increasing rents during a state of emergency is illegal in California. The ongoing wildfires have already destroyed [more than 12,000 structures](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyxypryrnko), including homes, schools, and [houses of worship](https://www.npr.org/2025/01/12/nx-s1-5254071/southern-california-wildfires-destroy-or-damage-many-houses-of-worship). The question for some of these communities — especially those in middle- and low-income areas — is whether they’ll ever come back, or whether the post-disaster gentrification will render them unrecognizable. When a natural disaster strikes a community, housing prices almost always rise. In the short term, the reason is obvious: Apartments and houses have been damaged or destroyed, so there are fewer of them, and that decline in supply causes rents to spike. But as rebuilding efforts drag on, many middle- and low-income people never return to their neighborhoods because they can’t afford to. “One of the reasons gentrification happens is that everything just becomes more expensive,” said Jennifer Gray Thompson, founder and CEO of [After the Fire](https://afterthefireusa.org/about-us/), a nonprofit that helps communities prepare for and recover from wildfires. One reason is the high cost of building, but there are others, including landlords taking advantage of high demand to raise rents and real-estate investors buying up properties to convert to short-term rentals. Rebuilding can be a slow and arduous process. In late 2018, a wildfire effectively leveled the town of Paradise, California, [burning through 95 percent of its buildings](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paradise-lost-inside-california-camp-fire-60-minutes/). Five years after the fire, [only about a third](https://www.npr.org/2023/11/08/1209471739/a-california-town-wiped-off-the-map-by-wildfire-is-still-recovering-five-years-o) of the town’s pre-fire population of 27,000 had returned, and the [median home price skyrocketed](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/05/california-camp-fire-rebuilding-paradise-housing) from $236,000 to $440,000. As a result, many victims of the fire have been permanently priced out, and [the town has started to draw people](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/05/california-camp-fire-rebuilding-paradise-housing) in from wealthier regions like the Bay Area. “In Paradise … they are a little over six years post-disaster — they are about 30 percent rebuilt — and their population has changed dramatically because a lot of their population was elderly and not well resourced at all,” Thompson said. “You’re almost always going to have a massive change of demographics.” Nicole Lambrou, a professor of urban and regional planning at California State Polytechnic University Pomona, has found similar patterns. Lambrou has [studied wildfires and the displacement that happens in their wake](https://aag.secure-platform.com/aag2024/gallery/rounds/74/details/52775), and while she notes that there’s no single, concrete measure of gentrification, she and her colleagues found many signs of deepening inequality after the disasters. “We looked at American Community Survey data \[in communities affected by wildfires\], and we have found that disabilities decreased, education rates increased, renter occupied housing decreased, and median age also decreased because there is a vulnerability in wildfires that’s associated with age,” Lambrou said — all markers of gentrification, with more vulnerable populations leaving impacted areas for good. “Disaster” or “climate gentrification” — that is, a neighborhood drawing in wealthier newcomers while pricing out longtime residents after a natural disaster like a wildfire or hurricane — is not exactly new. Many communities destroyed by various storms have [struggled to bring back their lower-income residents](https://www.route-fifty.com/management/2023/10/disaster-gentrification-looms-over-lahaina/390865/). And while it generally has the same contours as non-disaster-related gentrification, it tends to accelerate the process because natural disasters immediately displace a sizable population and open up a lot of land for [speculators to cash in on](https://time.com/6306090/lahaina-wildfires-history-exploitation/). That’s why in Lahaina, Hawaii, where wildfires killed over 100 people and destroyed more than 2,000 buildings in 2023, residents have been trying to [raise money for a community land trust](https://www.npr.org/2024/03/14/1237541048/lahaina-maui-community-land-trust-climate-change) — buying up plots of land before speculators do, and renting or selling homes at more affordable rates. One striking trend that contributes to making post-disaster communities less affordable is that people looking to buy a second home swoop in. When Lambrou and her colleagues were doing their fieldwork in Paradise to study the impacts of the fire, housing agents told them that they noticed a trend of Bay Area residents, who only live a couple of hours away, buying second homes. “We did in fact find that that’s the case if you look at the data,” Lambrou said. “Secondary home ownership goes up substantially in these areas.” While wildfires undoubtedly displace many people, it doesn’t mean that all communities follow the same pattern of gentrification in the ashes. For starters, Paradise was almost entirely burned down, while current fires are devastating a much smaller portion of the greater Los Angeles area by comparison. The LA metropolitan area might also fare better than places like Paradise in part because the city’s strong, diverse economy means that people who lose their jobs to the fire can more easily find employment and are more likely to stick around. “If you have a place like Santa Rosa, which is part of a larger metropolitan region or even a place like Ventura, which is so close to the greater LA area, you can find alternative employment, you can find alternatives for your children,” Lambrou said, adding that those areas tended to have quicker recoveries after previous wildfires and keep a larger portion of the pre-fire population. “Conversely, in Paradise, they lost a lot of their schools, their major employer was the Adventist hospital, which burned down and [they decided to not rebuild](https://krcrtv.com/news/local/no-new-hospital-coming-to-paradise-officials-say), and so they lost a lot.” Still, recovery efforts can be designed to minimize the potential for disaster-related gentrification, and the state has already taken some steps to do just that. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, for example, issued an executive order that cuts red tape by [suspending environmental reviews](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/12/us/newsom-ceqa-california-fires.html), which will help communities affected by the fires to rebuild at a faster pace. The executive order also ensures that [homeowners won’t see their property taxes soar](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-12/newsom-suspends-landmark-environmental-regulations-palisades-altadena-fires) after they rebuild their homes by [maintaining their pre-fire tax assessments](https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article298414598.html). The state also needs to make sure that it administers funds in an equitable manner. In the past, research has shown that wealthier and whiter communities [are more likely to receive](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/16/climate/wildfires-minorities-aid.html) government support after a fire. But ultimately, California was already home to some of the most expensive real estate in the world. The state has [not been able to keep up with its housing production goals](https://calmatters.org/housing/2022/10/newsom-california-housing-crisis/), and the ongoing housing shortage — which is [only exacerbated by the fires](https://www.vox.com/climate/363880/park-fire-california-evacuations-housing-crisis) — has been the main driver of gentrification. Doubling down on building more housing and increasing population density is key to bringing home prices down in the long run. Victims of the wildfires, however, aren’t going to be able to wait that long to see housing prices come down. So what the state does next, and how it directs its resources, will be critical in allowing communities to rebuild. After all, the reason natural disasters aren’t great equalizers comes down to how a government responds. You’ve read 1 article in the last month Here at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you — threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country. Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change. We rely on readers like you — join us.  Swati Sharma Vox Editor-in-Chief See More:

They had built their house on a rugged peak in the Santa Monica Mountains to maximize the views, and now Phillip and Claire Vogt went to their bedroom window and saw fires burning in the nearby canyons and black smoke rolling across the Pacific Ocean. The olive trees in their yard bent sideways in the wind. Helicopters flew over the ridgeline carrying loads of water. They could see one wildfire moving in from the north, barreling toward their children’s elementary school. Another encroached from the east, burning through an acre every few minutes. “We’re in the middle of a disaster,” Claire said, last week. The fires had already killed at least two dozen people and destroyed thousands of homes, and forecasters expected another few days of dry weather and high winds. “We prepared for this,” Phillip said. “We have a plan. Now we just stay calm and start getting everything ready.” They had spent the last decade constructing one of the most fire-resistant homes in the country — a beautiful, Spanish-style estate that was also a fortress meant to withstand even the worst of California’s worsening natural disasters. Phillip and Claire had both grown up nearby amid the region’s annual wildfires, and Phillip, an architect, understood the precariousness of building a home in Malibu, on nature’s wild edge. Their house had heat-resistant windows, a fireproof clay roof, walls made of concrete instead of wood, and vents stuffed with steel wool to keep embers from flying into the house. The property ran entirely on off-the-grid power in case of an outage, and it was surrounded by about half a dozen private fire hydrants, high-power water pumps and tanks that stored more than 50,000 gallons of water. High-power water pumps and tanks store more than 50,000 gallons of water. Phillip Vogt adjusting a hose to use if fires come near his home. The house had already survived one historic California wildfire in 2018, the Woolsey fire, which destroyed more than a thousand other nearby homes. Now more catastrophic fires were underway, and Phillip and Claire didn’t trust the local government’s ability to respond. They believed their house could withstand any worst-case scenario, but lately they had also begun to wonder about the toll that exacted on them. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and [log into](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F19%2Fus%2Fmalibu-home-california-wildfires.html&asset=opttrunc) your Times account, or [subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F19%2Fus%2Fmalibu-home-california-wildfires.html) for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F19%2Fus%2Fmalibu-home-california-wildfires.html&asset=opttrunc). Want all of The Times? [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F19%2Fus%2Fmalibu-home-california-wildfires.html).

Southern [California](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/california) was preparing for some long-awaited rain this weekend, bringing some respite after enormous [wildfires](https://www.theguardian.com/world/wildfires) have raged for weeks, but with the potential to cause mudslides, flooding and toxic ash runoff. Rain is forecast for much of Los Angeles from Saturday afternoon, [the National Weather Service said](https://www.weather.gov/lox/). It said there was a “5-10%” chance of significant debris in burn scars, but officials have begun preparations for potential debris flows. The forecast precipitation comes as [Donald Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump) is set to visit California later on Friday to tour areas hit by the lethal wildfires. Trump has falsely claimed that California’s water policies have contributed to the damage and he has vented about the state’s Democratic governor, [Gavin Newsom](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gavin-newsom), in highly politicized statements during one of the worst natural disasters in US history. Karen Bass, the mayor of [Los Angeles](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/los-angeles), issued an executive order earlier this week to expedite cleanup efforts in burn areas and mitigate the environmental impacts of fire-related pollutants. She ordered crews to remove vegetation, shore up hillsides, install barriers and reinforce roads ahead of the possible weekend rain, which could create mud and debris flows. While the risk of major mudslides or debris flows is low, Newsom said the state was preparing for the potential impact. “Even before we saw rain on the horizon in Los Angeles, I directed my departments and agencies to act fast to protect neighborhoods from potentially hazardous debris flows,” Newsom said. “By stationing resources and staff in key locations, we can help make a difference as we transition from fire response to storm preparedness.” In January 2018 mudslides in [Montecito](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/10/california-mudslide-montecito-death-toll-wildfires-climate-change#:~:text=At%20least%2017%20people%20died,and%20hundreds%20marooned%2C%20authorities%20said.), north-west of LA, killed 23 people, after heavy rains followed wildfires in the area. [map of fires](https://interactive.guim.co.uk/uploader/embed/2025/01/lafires24jan-zip/giv-4559tbHkIxANwVY4/) Trump was due to fly in to California on Friday after visiting areas of North Carolina hit by [Hurricane Helene](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/hurricane-helene) last year, in his first presidential trip since his inauguration on Monday. Earlier this week Trump said: “We’re going to take care of Los Angeles,” but in an [interview with Sean Hannity](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/23/donald-trump-sean-hannity-interview-january-6-pardons-inauguration-fox-news) on Wednesday he suggested his administration could withhold aid to stricken areas, citing a false claim about California’s water policies. He has also returned this week to political themes he took up over North Carolina at the time of the disaster there, having accused the Biden administration of being selective with aid after the hurricane because many affected were Republican voters. The president has falsely insisted that [California water policies](https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-republicans-taxes-eea4754a0f580d451aa0588f0639d52c), specifically fish conservation efforts in the northern part of the state, contributed to hydrants running dry in the Los Angeles area. “I don’t think we should give [California](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/california) anything until they let the water run down,” Trump told Hannity. The White House has asked California congressional members, including Democrats, to hold a roundtable at an airplane hangar in Santa Monica during Trump’s visit, Associated Press reported. Trump has suggested using federal disaster assistance as a bargaining chip during unrelated legislative negotiations over government borrowing, or as leverage to persuade California to change its water policies. As LA readied itself for rain, the San Diego fire department [warned](https://x.com/CALFIRESANDIEGO/status/1882733628893106490) that a fire near the US-Mexico border had increased to 800 acres in size. On Thursday night [officials said](https://x.com/CALFIRESANDIEGO/status/1882634811439026455) the fire was 0% contained, and people in the Otay wilderness area, south-east of San Diego, were under an [evacuation order](https://x.com/SDSheriff/status/1882745723579675068).

The [Palisades and Eaton wildfires](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/los-angeles), which killed at least 29 people and burned across about 60 sq miles (155 sq km) around Los Angeles, have been fully contained. California’s department of forestry and fire protection’s [announcement](https://www.fire.ca.gov/) on Friday came more than three weeks after the two blazes battered this highly populated area of southern California, laying waste to [entire neighborhoods](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/31/california-fires-cause-utilities) – including Pacific Palisades and Altadena. Containment refers to how much of a perimeter has been established around a fire to prevent it from growing, [according to NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/wildfires/palisades-eaton-fire-la-contained-rcna188338). The Palisades fire erupted on 7 January north of Malibu, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. The blaze began as a brush fire and rapidly spread amid southern California’s arid conditions. That night, the Eaton fire broke out in [Los Angeles](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/los-angeles) county. This blaze started in the Angeles national forest’s foothills, according to NBC News and, like the Palisades fire, was fueled by dry conditions. The Palisades fire engulfed 23,448 acres (9,489 hectares) and the Eaton fire burned 14,021 (5,674), officials said, and both infernos were made more powerful by the strong Santa Ana winds. Early estimates put [economic losses](https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-01-24/estimated-cost-of-fire-damage-balloons-to-more-than-250-billion) at more than $250bn. Authorities are now probing the fires’ origins. With the Palisades fire, investigators are studying whether a small fire, which firefighters thought they had extinguished, was rekindled by hurricane-force winds across the area, [the Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-30/inside-the-intense-search-for-what-or-who-started-the-palisades-fire) said. Officials investigating the Eaton fire are examining whether utilities played a role. LA superior court judge Ashfaq G Chowdhury ordered Southern California Edison to preserve its equipment, data and evidence related to the Eaton blaze, according to the Times. A handful of homeowners have sued Southern California Edison, claiming that its equipment sparked the fire. Authorities are focusing on the base of an electrical tower on an Eaton Canyon hill. Area residents recorded photos and video of what could be the first flames from the Eaton fire, which appear to be at the bottom of an electrical transmission tower before it spread downhill toward houses, the Los Angeles Times [reported](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-12/la-me-eaton-fire-power-lines). Southern California Edison has been linked to multiple wildfires. Investigators determined that faulty equipment spurred 2017’s Thomas fire and [2018’s Woolsey fire](https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/divisions/safety-and-enforcement-division/investigations-wildfires/sed-investigation-report---woolsey-fire---redacted.pdf), which killed three people and caused $6bn in damage. Southern California Edison has said it will cooperate with authorities. “While this remains an ongoing investigation, we’re continuing our commitment to transparency and we’ll continue to fully cooperate with the investigation,” Kathleen Dunleavy, a Southern California Edison spokesperson, said. California has previously seen wildfires sparked by other utility equipment. The Camp fire, which left 85 people dead and razed the town of Paradise, started when a century-old piece of power equipment malfunctioned and spewed sparks into brush. The Pacific Gas and Electric utility company pleaded guilty to dozens of counts of involuntary manslaughter and settled with local municipalities for $560m and survivors of the Camp fire, and other fatal infernos, for $13.5bn. Pacific Gas and Electric equipment also caused the [Zogg](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/03/us-zogg-wildfire-power-company-avoided-trial) and Dixie wildfires in California.

California’s home-insurance safety net does not have enough money to pay all of the claims from damage caused by the [Los Angeles](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/los-angeles) wildfires and has asked private insurers to contribute $1bn toward those claims. All private insurers operating in California are required to contribute to the Fair plan, a plan of last resort established so all Californians would have access to fire insurance. More than [450,000 California homeowners](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/16/california-wildfire-policies-insurance) got their insurance through the Fair plan in 2024 – more than double the number in 2020. As of 4 February, the plan had received more than 4,700 claims from the Palisades and Eaton fires, almost half of which were for “total losses”. But, at a time when property insurers have already begun leaving the state, the record assessment may trigger insurers to stop doing business entirely in California. Although recovery efforts are still under way, the Los Angeles wildfires may have been the costliest disaster in California history, with estimated economic losses [as high as $57bn](https://www.accuweather.com/en/blogs-webinars/california-wildfires-52-57b-damage-estimate-accuweather-report/1731718). “We must take action to improve the financial standing of the FAIR Plan and prevent this situation from recurring,” Ricardo Lara, California’s insurance commissioner, said in a press release. The assessment is the first time since the 1994 Northridge earthquake that the plan has called on private insurers to contribute additional funds to pay out claims. The $1bn assessment will be carried by private insurers, according to their market share. In 2023, California’s largest insurers included State Farm, Farmers Insurance Group and CSAA Insurance, according to Moody’s, a credit rating service. Insurance companies are responsible for half of that assessment, according to the state’s insurance department, but may pass off the other half to customers as a temporary supplemental fee. The assessment cannot be passed off in future rate hikes. Companies must pay their share of the assessment within 30 days – meaning that immediately leaving the state would not prevent them from having to contribute to claims. However, some insurers are already evaluating whether the cost of doing business in California is too high in the era of climate change. In 2023, both [State Farm and Allstate said](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/04/business/allstate-insurance-california.html) they would no longer provide new coverage in the state. In December 2024, State Farm decided [not to renew fire insurance policies](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/16/california-wildfire-policies-insurance) for about 1,626 customers in the Pacific Palisades – representing about 70% of its market share in the neighborhood. Some of those customers turned to the Fair plan, while others went uninsured. In response, Lara announced [a new regulation](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/31/california-wildfire-home-insurance), requiring insurers to issue policies in fire-prone areas to continue doing business in the state. In mid-January, after the fires began, [State Farm offered to renew](https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-01-15/state-farm-palisades-fire-non-renewals-la-fires-eaton-insurance-cancellations-altadena) many of the policies it had planned not to renew. Last week, State Farm filed [a request for an emergency rate increase](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/03/state-farm-emergency-insurance-hike-california-wildfires) of 22%, claiming the fires had put the company under increased financial strain. To respond to California’s growing insurance crisis, Lara says, state lawmakers must consider legislation “that would allow the FAIR Plan to access credit lines and catastrophe bonds to help pay claims in worst-case scenarios”. Some Angelenos have [voiced another solution](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/16/los-angeles-wildfires-fossil-fuels-big-oil): litigation and policies that could force big oil to pay for the damage, citing the role of the industry in exacerbating climate change. “They must take responsibility for the harm that they’ve caused, pay reparations to the affected communities who lost their homes and businesses, and take immediate steps to mitigate further damage,” Sam James, who lost her grandfather’s home in the Eaton fire, [said last month](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/16/los-angeles-wildfires-fossil-fuels-big-oil). “It should not continuously fall on us to address the consequences of big oil’s negligence.”

Lloyd’s of London expects losses of $2.3bn (£1.78bn) from the [California wildfires](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/california-wildfires) that ravaged Los Angeles this year, but fine art losses were limited because rich residents took their prize possessions with them. The Eaton and Palisades blazes in Los Angeles in early January killed 29 people and were only fully contained after 24 days, having [burned more than 14,973 hectares (37,000 acres)](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/california-wildfires) and destroyed more than 16,000 buildings. The world’s oldest insurance market reported a 10% drop in annual pre-tax profits, to £9.6bn, as part of a trading update, before the full results on 20 March. While it will not be included in the 2024 results, Lloyd’s currently estimates the net loss to the market from the California wildfires to be about $2.3bn. Burkhard Keese, the chief financial officer, said: “We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to those affected by the California fires earlier this year. Although we are still assessing the full impact, we do not expect this to be a capital event.” He meant it would affect profits for 2025, but would not affect overall capital levels. The affluent Pacific Palisades area and surrounding neighbourhoods were the [location of some beautiful 20th-century architecture](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/01/california-fires-palisades-homes-ashes); for example, houses by the émigré Austrian modernist [Richard Neutra](https://www.dezeen.com/2025/01/14/neutra-house-iconic-architecture-lost-la-fire/) have been reduced to ashes. While some experts had expected big losses in fine art, Lloyd’s said most of its exposure was reinsurance payouts on home insurance policies. Keese [told the Financial Times](https://www.ft.com/content/e4e40c19-2d65-4344-bebe-5ee829c639c3) that rich residents took their fine art with them “because even if you get the money, you can’t replace your Rembrandt”. Insurers around the world are facing billions of losses from the wildfires, with total losses across the industry estimated at up to $40bn, according to the [data firm Milliman](https://www.milliman.com/en/insight/industry-insured-losses-for-los-angeles-wildfires). Keese said human-made and natural catastrophe losses were likely to keep the cost of commercial cover higher for longer, despite expectations that some prices would fall this year, after losses from US hurricanes dipped because of less severe storm seasons. [skip past newsletter promotion](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/mar/10/lloyds-of-london-expects-losses-california-wildfires#EmailSignup-skip-link-10) Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning **Privacy Notice:** Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our [Privacy Policy](https://www.theguardian.com/help/privacy-policy). We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) apply. after newsletter promotion According to the [National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration](https://www.milliman.com/en/insight/industry-insured-losses-for-los-angeles-wildfires), the frequency of weather and climate disaster events affecting the US, with losses exceeding $1bn, has steadily increased each decade from three a year in the 1980s, to 27 in 2024. The annual cost has also increased, from $22bn a year on average in the 1980s to $182.7bn last year. Lloyd’s combined ratio, which measures claims and expenses as a proportion of insurance premiums, rose to 86.9% in 2024 from 84% the year before, as insurers faced large claims from the US hurricanes Helene and Milton in the autumn and the collapse of a bridge in Baltimore a year ago. Gross written premiums increased by 6.5% to £55.5bn, boosted by property and reinsurance.

The city of Berkeley has a new message for residents of its most fire-prone neighborhoods: it’s time to cut back your gardens. People living in the most high-fire-risk areas of the [California](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/california) city will be required to remove plants and other flammable materials close to their homes as part of strict new wildfire safety rules the city moved to adopt this week. The city council in the San Francisco Bay Area city of 119,000 people on Tuesday approved the new requirement, which bans all combustible materials within 5ft of residences and and aims to create defensible space around homes and slow the spread of fast-moving wildfires. The regulations would apply to about 1,000 homes in the Berkeley Hills beginning next year. The proposal comes on the heels of [January’s deadly wildfires](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/03/los-angeles-wildfires-death-toll) that tore through hillside neighborhoods in Los Angeles, killing 30 people and destroying thousands of homes. “The fire tragedy suffered by the Los Angeles area is the most recent demonstration that wildfire is a recurring feature of our landscape, even more so as climate change results in more frequent extreme weather events,” the proposal stated. “Maintaining the status quo in communities with exposure to wildfire will inevitably result in similar, disastrous outcomes.” Wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity in California and across the US. More than a third of the US population, about 115 million people, [live in areas](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/05/us-wildfires-cities-dangers) at high risk of wildfires, yet millions of people aren’t aware they are at risk. And many of the areas devastated by fire in recent years were unprepared. While there has been pushback from some residents, who [argue](https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2025/04/15/community/berkeley-wildfire-maps-zone-zero-city-council/) it will be difficult for people to comply with the new rules, experts have warned that limiting fuel, such as by removing burnable materials from trellises to trees around homes, is key to stopping the spread of fires. It can also give firefighters more time to respond to blazes and allow residents more time to evacuate, the city’s fire chief, Daniel Sprague, told the [San Francisco Chronicle](https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/berkeley-fire-zone-zero-20259566.php). “Either we do this or we start to wrap our heads around the fact that we’ll enjoy Berkeley until the next big fire,” Sprague told the newspaper. “Not to be dramatic, but that’s the situation we’re in.” The city council voted unanimously in favor of the proposal, and will hold a final vote on the item next month. Meanwhile, California is [in the process](https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/02/06/governor-newsom-signs-executive-order-to-further-prepare-for-future-urban-firestorms-stepping-up-already-nation-leading-strategies/) of adopting similar so-called “zone 0” restrictions in other parts of the state, which require an ember resistant zone of 5ft around structures that are located in the highest risk wildfire areas.

* Volunteers plant native species in parks throughout California in an effort to restore biodiversity and slow the spread of wildfire Photograph: Philip Cheung/The Guardian  [](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2025/may/26/california-plants-garden-wildfires#img-1) * Test Plot, a project launched in 2019 by the landscape architecture firm Terremoto, has built eight plots in Elysian Park alone.On a recent Friday morning, volunteers were pulling out invasive grass and black mustard to make room for wildflowers and other drought-resistant, native species Photograph: Philip Cheung/The Guardian  [](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2025/may/26/california-plants-garden-wildfires#img-2) * This garden is a response to a challenge vexing parks departments across the American west: how to adapt to a changing climate with limited resources? Photograph: Philip Cheung/The Guardian  [](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2025/may/26/california-plants-garden-wildfires#img-3) * ‘It’s an experiment in design through maintenance,’ said Jenny Jones (pictured), director of Test Plot. ‘We bring our skills as designers to the park, but do it in a more immediate, low-budget, low-tech way that is very community friendly’ Photograph: Philip Cheung/The Guardian  [](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2025/may/26/california-plants-garden-wildfires#img-4) * In southern California, native flora tends to tolerate drought, making it more resistant to wildfire Photograph: Philip Cheung/The Guardian  [](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2025/may/26/california-plants-garden-wildfires#img-5) * By contrast, many invasive species tend to dry up, becoming kindling during wildfires, which have become more frequent and severe in recent years as the planet heats up Photograph: Philip Cheung/The Guardian  [](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2025/may/26/california-plants-garden-wildfires#img-6) * Terremoto’s Burn Scar Test Plot, also in Elysian Park, was covered in black mustard and eucalyptus, two non-native and flammable species that burned during 2023 fires Photograph: Philip Cheung/The Guardian  [](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2025/may/26/california-plants-garden-wildfires#img-7) * The gardens are attracting pollinators and birds such as red tailed hawks and red-breasted hummingbirds Photograph: Philip Cheung/The Guardian  [](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2025/may/26/california-plants-garden-wildfires#img-8) * Some 500 volunteers have volunteered in Elysian Park over the last few years. ‘It’s not, just a one-time tree-planting on Earth Day,’ said Jones. ‘It’s a years-long relationship with the land.’Here, volunteer Rebecca Crane and her dog June at the Elysian Test Plot Photograph: Philip Cheung/The Guardian  [](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2025/may/26/california-plants-garden-wildfires#img-9) * ‘In Los Angeles, we see a lot of people fleeing the film and TV industry, which is struggling right now, and finding purpose in care and stewardship,’ Jones said. ‘It gives you a place to put your energy.’Pictured: a lacy _phaecelia_ plant in front of elegant clarkias at the Elysian Test Plot Photograph: Philip Cheung/The Guardian  [](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2025/may/26/california-plants-garden-wildfires#img-10)

The climate crisis will continue making lightning-sparked wildfires more frequent for decades to come, which could produce cascading effects and worsen public safety and public health, experts and new research suggest. Lightning-caused fires tend to burn in more remote areas and therefore usually grow into larger fires than human-caused fires. That means a trend toward more lightning-caused fires is also probably making wildfires more deadly by producing more wildfire smoke and helping to drive [a surge in air quality issues](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/19/wildfire-smoke-far-more-dangerous-than-thought-say-scientists) from coast to coast, [especially over the past several years](https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/8187/). Over the last 40 years, thunderstorms and other weather conditions favoring lightning [have been happening more often](https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/changing-thunderstorm-potential) across many parts of the US west, including western Washington, western Oregon, the California Central valley, and higher elevations throughout the Rocky Mountains. This trend isn’t just in the US. This year’s fire season has been [the worst in European history](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/22/eu-wildfires-worst-year-on-record-as-season-continues), driven in part by [lightning-caused wildfires in Spain](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/20/winds-complicate-wildfire-battles-in-spain-portugal-suffers-third-death). In Canada, huge fires this year have burned more than 200% of normal forest area, the vast majority of which were caused by lightning. Despite the well-documented trend toward worsening fires, most climate models have been too coarse to resolve how the relationship between lightning and wildfires will change as the climate crisis deepens. A [new study](https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025EF006108) published last week is the first to use machine learning techniques to tackle this problem, simultaneously looking at future changes in lightning frequency and changes in weather variables like air temperature, humidity, wind and soil moisture that can predict how likely a fire is to spread. “The overall signal is that we will have more risk of lightning-caused fires,” said Dmitri Kalashnikov, a climate scientist at the Sierra Nevada Research Institute at University of California-Merced and the study’s lead author. The findings come as this year’s wildfire season in the US is shifting into high gear in a manner eerily similar to what Kalashnikov imagines for the future – lurching forward after a series of dry thunderstorms tore through California earlier this week. [Thousands of lightning strikes](https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/california-bay-area-lightning-thunder-wildfire-21026376.php) this week have sparked at least 20 new fires and burned tens of thousands of acres across California’s Central valley and into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, with [one fire destroying several structures](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/03/california-wildfires-chinese-camp) in the Gold Rush-era settlement of Chinese Camp east of Modesto. Kalashnikov’s team found that some places, like the inland Pacific north-west, will see a surge of lightning with a relatively small increase in overall fire risk due to a moistening environment. Other places, like the desert south-west, will see an increase in wildfire risk without much of a change in the number of days with lightning due to an overall trend towards more pervasive drought. Despite these regional differences, the result was clear: virtually everyone will be dealing with more wildfire risk in the future. In fact, Kalashnikov’s team found future increases in the number of lightning-caused wildfires across a robust 98% of the western US “due to more lightning, or more fire weather, or both”, he said. In a future world with limited firefighting resources, the implications of more lightning-caused wildfires are worrying. Over a recent 15-year span, [wildfire smoke killed about a thousand people](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/07/wildfire-smoke-deaths-climate-crisis) in the US each year. A surge in lightning-caused fires could cause America’s smoke epidemic to take the lives of potentially [more than 20,000 people a year by mid-century](https://www.nber.org/papers/w32307). In addition to the increase in wildfire risk, Kalashnikov’s study found the biggest impact from the expected increase in thunderstorms and lightning across some parts of the west could be an increase in flash flooding and mudslides, especially in recently burned areas. More smoke from more lightning-caused fires may also coat glaciers in Canada, Greenland and Europe with dark particles [that can make them melt more quickly.](https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/06/25/Wildfires-Speeding-Up-Glaciers-Shrinking-Ice-Albedo-Effect/) Due to their remote nature, lightning-caused wildfires also tend to drain emergency response capacity away from urban areas. Even today, a sudden lightning storm “can stretch resources really, really thin” for weeks during peak wildfire season, said Max Moritz, a University of California Cooperative Extension wildfire specialist and adjunct professor at University of California-Santa Barbara. “Maybe a week or two later you may have a big Santa Ana wind event,” said Moritz, “then you have a real recipe for catastrophe.” When coupled with [the trend of urbanization of wildfire-prone areas](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/05/us-wildfires-cities-dangers) that we are seeing across the west, a world with worse wildfires could place additional pressure on the insurance industry which is digesting [billions of dollars of claims from this year’s fires in Los Angeles alone](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/23/los-angeles-wildfires-insurance-claims). In the US, firefighting resources are stretched thin nationwide as a result of the Trump administration’s cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Park Service and a host of other federal agencies with staff throughout the west. [As of late July](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/22/us-firefighter-shortage-wildfires), more than one-quarter of all firefighting jobs remained vacant at the US Forest Service, and [a recent immigration raid within an active firefighting crew](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/30/us-border-agents-oregon-firefighters) in Oregon has [reportedly reduced firefighter morale](https://stateline.org/2025/08/31/firefighters-question-leaders-role-in-washington-immigration-raid/). Moritz sees a possible partial solution – change the way we build cities in fire-prone regions. In addition to instituting basic fire safety building codes, Moritz envisions agricultural buffers surrounding cities that could effectively shield homes and people from encroaching fire. “There’s a growing awareness now that live fuel moisture, the amount of water in green living twigs and leaves, is also a really strong control on fire dynamics,” said Moritz. “That’s what we have here in Santa Barbara. We’ve got an existing old agricultural belt that’s relatively thin. In the places where it still exists, wildfires cannot sweep out of the national forest and into neighborhoods.”

The [climate emergency](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-crisis) is significantly increasing costs for [California](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/california) households in the form of rising utility bills, lost wages and growing healthcare expenses, worsening the state’s affordability crisis, according to a sweeping new report. The average American born in 2024 will likely face up to $500,000 in additional lifetime costs from climate crisis, and those who experience more severe effects will see up to $1m in costs, the Costs of Climate Change: Financial and Economic Impacts on [California](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/california) report states. The analysis from the Center for Law, Energy & Environment at the University of California, Berkeley, commissioned by the environment and economy non-profit Next 10, examines more than 100 primary sources together for the first time to provide a deeper look at what researchers describe as the “hidden costs” of the climate crisis in California. “Climate change is raising the cost of living in ways that we may not know,” said F Noel Perry, the Next 10 founder. “From agricultural workers in the Central valley losing work because of drought or heat \[to\] patients not getting medical care because of extreme weather, to increases in home insurance.” California has long been one of the most expensive states in the nation with its high cost of living and expensive housing. Meanwhile, a recent [report](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/17/poverty-california-louisiana) revealed that since the rollback of pandemic era policies, [California](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/california) has developed the highest poverty rate in the US, alongside Louisiana. The state has also had to grapple with increasingly extreme weather fueled by climate change from [devastating and deadly wildfires](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/30/california-wildfires-north-complex-record), year after year, that displace entire communities and spread smoke across the region to [grueling heatwaves](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/10/california-hottest-month-july) and [intense winter storms](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/16/california-weather-rainstorms-deadly-atmospheric-river). In January, wildfires tore through the LA communities of [Altadena](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/19/altadena-displacement-black-families) and the [Pacific Palisades](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/09/california-wildfires-pacific-palisades-los-angeles), killing 31 people and destroying more than 18,000 structures. People often perceive climate change as a set of future costs, but the consequences are already impacting people in unexpected ways, including inflation, food prices and availability, and insurance, said Ken Alex, with UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy and Environment. “We really wanted to take a deeper look at the costs to individuals \[and\] to businesses,” Alex said. “These are immediate costs that are affecting people in their current lives.” “It’s not a future set of abstract numbers. It’s real and it’s immediate,” he added. The report highlights the far-reaching impacts of the January wildfires, among others, which resulted in $4.6bn in GDP losses and nearly $300m in lost wages for workers and businesses, eliminating generations of family wealth. Between 2017 and 2021, there were about $60bn in income losses across the state due to wildfires, according to a Moore Foundation report cited in the analysis. Californians are facing skyrocketing power bills at the same time, and wildfire-related costs account for up to 13% of recent increases, the report states. Extreme heat further increases electricity costs each day, as when temperatures reach 95F, electricity costs rise by 1.6%. Smoke exposure associated with wildfires in southern California costs an estimated $84.42 a person per day, according to a [2012 study](https://research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/40381) cited in the report. The unhealthy air caused by fires is already affecting outdoor workers and by 2050 they are are expected to see future earnings losses of up to $55.4bn because of the climate. In 2018, wildfire smoke led to an estimated $7.8bn in health costs in the San Francisco Bay Area. Addressing the climate crisis costs money, Alex said, but there are massive costs for failing to take action. “Taking action on things like climate change through technology reduces costs rather than increases it, and if we continue to fail to take action, that’s actually more impactful from a cost perspective.” The report authors hope to conduct further research to uncover additional costs, Alex said, and would like to see the issue become a point of discussion in the next governor’s race and beyond. “We cannot solve the affordability crisis in California without also solving the climate crisis,” Perry said.