The state of emergency continues for the fires a Los Angelesin California, which began between January 7 and 8, 2025 and have burned so far over 11,000 hectares provoking at least 5 confirmed deathsdestroying at least 10,000 buildings and forcing the evacuation of over 130,000 people. The flames also invaded the Hollywood Hills yesterday, hitting the residences of some VIPs such as Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal. At the moment the containment of the 5 active fires is proving to be extremely complex because of the strong windswhich are blowing between 55 and 90 km/h. The causes of the fires lie not only in the winds themselves, but also in the prolonged drought which has been plaguing the area for months: since June 2024, in fact, rainfall in Los Angeles has been practically absent and this has made the ground extremely dry and prone to flames. The emergency forced President Joe Biden to cancel his trip to Italy.
What are the causes of fires in Los Angeles
At this time of year it is decidedly anomalous to witness such large fires in Southern California, where the fire season generally ends in October with the decrease in temperatures and the increase inhumidity. This last factor, in particular, is crucial in the formation of a fire: dry soil and dry air are the main ingredients that favor fires.
Unfortunately, the Los Angeles area is currently much drier than normal. According to official data from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), on the Californian metropolis there has been no rainfall since June in October 2024 (against the 24 millimeters expected on average in the same period) and also the months of May, November and December 2024 were heavily below average from the point of view of precipitation: 6 millimeters in May against an average of 13 millimetres; 3.5 millimeters in November against the expected 19 millimeters; 0.5 mm in December against an average of 71.6 mm.
The map of fires in California
As confirmed by the Californian CAL FIRE (Department of Forestry and Fire Protection), there are currently 5 main fires in the area: Palisadesbetween Santa Monica and Malibu (about 7000 hectares); Eatonabove Pasadena (4300 hectares); Hurstabove San Fernando (346 hectares); Lydianorth of the national forest (140 hectares); Sunsetin the Hollywood Hills (17 hectares).
Because the firefighters can’t put out the flames
The presence of intense winds with gusts of up to 90 km/h it is not only one of the causes of the fires in Los Angeles: it is also, for the same reason, one of the reasons why the flames are so difficult to contain. In fact, winds are the main “engine” of the spread of flames, as well as making the operations of firefighting aircraft complex.
At the moment, according to CAL FIRE, three of the five fires have containment percentages equal to 0%including the two largest (Palisades and Eaton). The Hurst fire is put out at 10% while the Lidia fire is put out at 40%.
