Thousands Displaced as Climate Change Fuels Wildfire Catastrophe in Los Angeles
Are you concerned that climate change threatens your home?
It's been a week of unprecedented destruction in Los Angeles. So far the Palisades, Eaton and other fires have burned 35,000 acres, destroyed or damaged over 12000 structures, forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people and resulted in at least 25 deaths.
Although the proximate causes of the Palisades, Eaton and other fires are not yet known, the underlying conditions that set the stage for this disaster are undeniable. Scientists have long warned that climate change would fundamentally alter California's fire regime. Rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, and more frequent extreme weather events have created conditions that amplify fire risks. 2020 was an especially devastating year when 4.1 million acres of California burned in 5 of 6 largest wildfires in state history.
This year, during what is typically its rainy season, Los Angeles has received only 1.25 percent of its normal precipitation since summer. This stands in stark contrast to Northern California, parts of which have been inundated with back-to-back atmospheric rivers. The swings of the pendulum are wide. At the start of 2024, 96% of California was free of drought. By contrast, according to a report released by the US Drought Monitor this week, currently 59% of the state is in drought conditions. Perversely, the high rainfall of the last two rainy seasons in California has also contributed to the risk and severity of wildfires by encouraging rampant growth of natural grasses in remote areas which ultimately dry out and provide ample fuel for fires.
On January 7, Los Angeles' parched conditions met with a wind storm of disastrous intensity. The Santa Anas, desiccating warm winds that typically blow from the desert over the mountains to the coast in the cooler months, are well known to Southern Californians. With wind speeds typically between 40-65 mph, the Santa Anas have always presented a fire danger. They increase the possibility of a fire sparking by lowering humidity and drying out vegetation, and if a fire does start, the winds can quick spread a fire by carrying embers great distances. The path of the Santa Anas is usually narrow and long. However, on Tuesday the National Weather Service warned that an unprecedentedly strong and widespread wind event was on the way with wind gusts possibly reaching between 80 and 100 mph.
By the time the blazes sparked, the winds were so strong that firefighting aircraft could not be safely scrambled, leaving the battle entirely to firefighters on the ground contending with a municipal water system that was designed to fight house fires rather than wildfires. In Pacific Palisades, the lack of fire suppression from the air may have also contributed to the fire hydrants losing pressure and going dry after hours of extreme water demand.
It is not yet known whether climate change is affecting the intensity of the Santa Ana winds, but it is clear that the cycles of the extreme weather that California has been experiencing are producing conditions that magnify the fire danger of winds. As the fires rage on, the true extent of the destruction will not be known for weeks but one thing is certain— thousands of Los Angelenos are now climate change refugees, facing the loss of their homes, places of work, schools and neighborhoods.
Donate Now to Help Los Angeles
Los Angeles Fire Department
California Fire Foundation
https://www.cafirefoundation.org/
California Community Foundation Wildfire Recovery Fund
https://www.calfund.org/funds/wildfire-recovery-fund/
LA Food Bank
Baby2Baby
https://donate.baby2baby.org/give/648067/#!/donation/checkout
World Central Kitchen
https://wck.org/relief/california-fires-jan25
Photo Credit: Palisades Fire January 7 2025 courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory
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Haven't experienced natural disasters where I live now, but have previously lived in areas that have.
When I lived there it wasn't as severe as it is now.
Nor were there insurability issues like now, where insurers have left the state, and states have to provide insurance as it's required for real estate deals when there is a mortgage, or car purchases or leases that are financed.
Many people who outright own property or cars and can't get affordable insurance have not insure it, and in a disaster lose their investment without FEMA.
Project 2025 plans to move FEMA responsibilities to states and private insurers.
Remains to be seen how 47 will implement Project 2025, but recent disasters (hurricanes and flooding in the SE, fires in CA) will be a litmus test.
Will Congress fund FEMA for rebuilding in the SE which remains unfunded and 30 some MAGA House members oppose any funding increases for anything? Where will they get $1T for deportation or $5-6T for tax breaks?
What funding will be available for the CA fires beyond Biden's 180d support?
https://resist.bot/petitions/PYMCKM
This fire is horrific, but blaming it on climate change is absurd. CA has a long, sad history of wildfires. Praying for all affected.
you guys are bunch of idiots and the 64% is probably the same people who probably water their dead flowers and keep the dead debris around and blame it on climate change because you are so gullible and, of course nothing will change. It’s obvious that liberals aren’t smart enough to take care of the problem to prevent fires!
I'm lucky enough that I don't live in an area that's at risk for many of these disasters, but we could have snow or rain disasters here, and earthquakes are always possible.
As we saw in Asheville a few months ago, no area is safe from the effects of climate-induced disasters, so we should all be preparing, and we should all be actively telling our state, local and federal representatives to do everything they can to stop the climate crisis and prepare for a future of more climate disasters.
To my representatives,
If they vote for strings to help Los Angeles, then I want democrats to zero out California funding for fema. #FAFO
Seriously Democratics, you are going to have to grow a spine and think outside the box of what use to be normal. In fact, throw out that box. We can make threats too. We do not bend the knee. Americans do not bend the knee or run from a bully. When we are pushed, we push back, only we push back harder. That is your new motto.
We should keep *all* our billions we send to the federal government. I guess we need it to rebuild LA, sorry godless red welfare states. No money for you.
Let those red states pay their own way, let the economy blow up, and let voters who thought voting in T wouldn’t affect them in any way, learn that voting has consequences.
Because T is going to react w violence and marshall law before he will accept a voter backlash because of his policies.
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L O L Trump decides to resend his 25% tax on Canada and Mexico after "they agreed to strengthen their borders "his initial reason was to make our economy stronger, but what really happened is every business man, every legitimate business man unlike Trump across this country, probably got a hold of the White House and said you idiot you're going trash the economy. But what can you expect from a jackass that ran six businesses into the ground and had to declare bankruptcy and who elected this moron Republicans
The newly appointed treasury secretary!
So how much will this cost the American taxpayers? This is not funny money!
Moron Trump did nothing to help Ca about the fire, he only screw the farmers that depend on the water reservoir!
We cannot continue unabated 'growth' without considering that the earth has finite resources. No amount of money will do anything if we don't have a home - the earth is our home.
Donald Trump the grand idiot that has filed for bankruptcy six times is about to do the same for this country. Make it go bankrupt.
not to mention the fact that he's been convicted of business fraud. Thanks to all the complete idiots that voted for this moron. I hope you can deal with the prices that are gonna be coming your way actually I hope you can't for what you've done to America.
A couple of days ago one of the people jailed for tearing up the And assaulting the police and actually crapping inside building was killed while trying to shoot a police officer. That's Donald Trump. He cares absolutely nothing for America. He cares absolutely nothing for the world of law.
this is off-topic, but there's no place to put it and it needs to be said, what's the deal with Trump's wife being a lot in this country when she came here under questionable circumstances to land in a nest of money and pose nude in magazines. Where's the justice in America, what is wrong with America when they elect someone who is a known and convicted business swindler plus sex offender where in the hell have Republicans drivenness how far down into the depths of destroying this country are they willing to drag us make no mistake about it that's exactly what's happening.
Climate change is an incredibly important issue, we need to make sure our representatives take this seriously and fight back against Trump's hand outs to it's billionaire fossil fuel friends while raising the prices of medicine with his crazy executive orders
I worry about our children.
The corrupt Republican justices system!
More on Trump revenge of security protect!
If California splits from the U.S. how about taking Washington and Oregon with you? Won't need the federal government, sense you are on your own anyway!
1600 people were pardon today by Trump 1600 people who tore the To shreds because that means absolutely nothing to Trump, he doesn't believe in laws he is lawless he doesn't pay laws. He doesn't care about the government. He doesn't care about this country cares about making money And now this idiot is back in office at the hands of his idiot followers. He drug America down to the lowest depth since the Civil War.
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As someone who lives in Central Texas, I've noticed that the last decade: summers have been hotter than usual longer, spring have been dryer, fall precipitation have been historically lower, winters have been more bitterly cold than normal, wildfires that used to be normal for West Texas have become more prevalent in Central Texas, and when it does rain it floods. I'm someone who sees the data shows that are climate is changing in the wrong direction and we as species are not adapting fast enough to fight it and fix the damage we've caused in the last century of industry.
To my representatives, PLEASE listen to the environmental scientists who have been WARNING us the last 50 years that we are doing more harm than good with our uses of finite resources on this one & only Earth.
Los Angeles is going to need help long past the few weeks this disaster will be in the news. It will take decades to rebuild.
Climate change impacts everyone. What if a wildfire was in the valley where all the agriculture is? That's our national, if not world, food supply. Everyone eats.
The lack of a decent education is currently on full display in our country. Because with one people learn to use reason.
Food prices are high because Ukraine supplies a lot of the worlds wheat, embargoes, sanctions, supply chains, greed and a lot of other things, all impact these types of issues. In other words, it's complicated. And under education, which impacts reason, coupled with propaganda the likes of which have never been seen before, results in the expectation of simplistic answers. For complicated problems. It doesn't work that way.
So everyone is impacted.
And in this instance, one of many that should be a wake up call, but won't be, because people want simple and simple also means lack of change, I hope people are willing to help. Long after the funeral, because that's when most help is needed and often abandoned.