The devastating Los Angeles wildfires, which picked up pace around the 7th of January, are still ablaze, have yet to be controlled and are leaving a trail in their wake of homes and towns, once lived and cherished, into nothing but ghost towns. The loss and damage left by the fires will be a stark reminder for years to come of the loss, damage and trauma faced by the families affected. The Los Angeles fires so far have claimed the lives of 25 people, caused displacement of more than 180,000, power cuts in multiple areas and have caused the government to face a loss of $250 billion in damages. President-elect Donald Trump expressed his exasperation on the social media platform X regarding the LA wildfires and stated, “What is taking so long[to control the fires]?”
There have been numerous speculations on how and why these wildfires expanded on such a large scale and why the firefighters could not maintain the fires despite working on them for so long. Experts have deemed this recent string of wildfires to be the worst scenario predicted by them.
Between fall and spring, South California experiences gusts of dry winds, a naturally occurring phenomenon known as Santa Ana winds. These hurricane-strength winds tend to cause runny noses or watery eyes, and if they are powerful enough, they can halt traffic or topple trees. Still, they become particularly dangerous when merged with various other climate conditions, such as lack of rainfall or droughts, which thus leads to the increased risk of wildfires. In a conversation with NBC News, Mark Gold, the Director of Water Scarcity Solutions at the Natural Resources Defence Council, stated: “The low-moisture content in the vegetation that we get in these extreme dry periods leads to these highly vulnerable conditions, and when a big Santa Fe hits, that’s when the real nightmare for our firefighters kicks in.”
The climatological phenomenon of strong and dry winds in Santa Fe is further accelerated in Southern California, coupled with the topography of the narrow mountain valleys that lead down to LA and the coast. Moreover, since April 2024, precipitation has only been recorded on five dates, leading to an exceptionally dry year. Experts have said that climate change has caused immense changes in weather patterns. The citizens of Los Angeles are now continuously prone to droughts and intense wildfires.
With the dry winds and droughts, many citizens were outraged over the claims that fire hydrants ran dry early in battles to control the wildfires. At a press conference, Janisse Quinones, the Head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, stated that 3 million gallons of water were available when the Palisades fire started. Still, the demand was four times greater than they had ever seen or predicted. He further contended that fire hydrants are not suitable for mass use as they hold the capacity to fight fires at one or two houses at a time. Another glaring question is why the 117-million gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir, which heavily contributes water for drinking and firefighting specifically for the neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades, had been dry for more than a year. Enraged social media users have called for accountability from officials and have said that the ones responsible for this blunder and mishap should be held liable and jailed.
Major Wildfires in the Area
There have been four major fires that have been causing continuous damage to LA. Still, the most reported one on the news and social media is the Palisade fire because ‘Pacific Palisades’ is one of the most affluent neighbourhoods in downtown LA. The neighbourhood is home to numerous notable celebrities and personalities who have unfortunately lost their homes in the fires. A few well-known names whose residences succumbed to the wildfires are Paris Hilton, who lost her $8.4 million beachfront property, the “This is Us” star Milo Ventimiglia, the “Gossip Girl” star Leighton Meester and the main lead from “Nobody Wants This,” Adam Brody are a few names to face this devastation. The celebrities posted videos on social media of their evacuation and the wreckage after the fires ravaged the places they once called home. Others, such as Bella Hadid, shared that they had lost their childhood home, which their mother, Yolanda Hadid, owned.
Other than the Palisades fire, the Eaton fire in the Altadena era was even deadlier and caused more fatalities than the latter. Some relatively small wildfires have been contained, such as the Hurst and Kenneth fires in the West Hills neighbourhood.
Another important reason for worry amid all of the wildfires is the concern about how millions of people are being exposed to wildfire smoke as fires burn down homes, trees, and vehicles and are, thus, omitting toxic smoke. The LA wildfires have burned down more than 25,000 housing structures along with building materials like paints, plastics, furniture and electronics inside them. When such items are burned, they release virulent gases for humans and animals. According to study reports, these gases include traces of hydrogen chloride, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins, and carcinogens such as benzene. Metal, lead, chromium and arsenic were also found in the smoke, which affects multiple body parts such as the brain, liver, kidney, skin and lungs. Short-term exposure to such smoke is deemed not to have such a glaring effect on one’s health but can trigger asthma attacks in sensitive groups. However, the long-term effects of smoke exposure are more pressing, yet they are less well understood.
With all the media coverage over the past few days, showing the devastation left by the wildfires and how communities, families and individuals are struggling to get back on their feet after losing all their lives and possessions in a second – multiple netizens are found comparing the pictures coming out from Los Angeles to be an exact copy of the scenes in Gaza. The similarities between the two in terms of destruction, loss of life, being rendered homeless with nowhere to go, and the trauma of losing loved ones is similar to the unsettling imagery that comes out from Gaza every day. Many citizens have also noted that the United States has at least provided around $12.5 billion for military aid to Israel since October 2023 following the start of the Genocide. In contrast, the LA Fire Department has faced a budget cut of $17.6 million.
These fires have been a stark reminder of inequality and exploitation. On the social media platform X, many individuals in LA posted that they are willing to hire ‘private firefighters’ in a desperate attempt to save their properties from burning up. However, these posts were greatly unappreciated by the netizens, as it seemed that those wealthy enough were exploiting their power and money to save themselves from the chaos and damage. The lack of empathy for the victims of Gaza despite facing mass destruction and loss for more than 15 months has been immensely talked about as well.
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The writer is a final year law student at Pakistan College of Law. She can be reached at [email protected].