January 2025 Southern California wildfires
Updated: Wikipedia source
From January 7 to 31, 2025, a series of 14 destructive wildfires affected the Los Angeles metropolitan area and San Diego County in California, United States. The fires were exacerbated by drought conditions, low humidity, a buildup of vegetation from the previous winter, and hurricane-force Santa Ana winds, which in some places reached 100 miles per hour (160 km/h; 45 m/s). The wildfires killed between 31 and 440 people, forced more than 200,000 to evacuate, destroyed more than 18,000 homes and structures, and burned over 57,529 acres (23,281 ha; 89.889 sq mi) of land in total. Most of the damage was from the two largest fires: the Eaton Fire in Altadena and the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, both of which were fully contained on January 31, 2025. Municipal fire departments and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) fought the property fires and wildfires, which were extinguished by tactical aircraft alongside ground firefighting teams. The deaths and damage to property from these two fires made them likely the second- and third-most destructive fires in California's history, respectively. In August 2025, researchers from Boston University's School of Public Health and the University of Helsinki published a study, through the American Medical Association, connecting up to 440 deaths that were caused by the wildfires. In October 2025, a 29-year-old man was arrested for allegedly starting the Palisades Fire. The man is accused of intentionally setting a fire in Pacific Palisades on January 1, 2025 (which was known as the Lachman Fire). That fire was thought to be extinguished by the Los Angeles Fire Department, but strong winds on January 7, 2025 led to a rekindling of the fire which quickly spread, becoming the Palisades Fire.