The Palisades fire is burning through homes in Los Angeles
Ethan Swope/Associated Press/Alamy
The fast-moving fires in the Los Angeles area have been raging out of control since the fire season typically ends in California. Strong Santa Ana winds are unusual for this time of year but they have arrived after months of drought. The combination has led to a series of disastrous wildfires that show how climate change is altering fire behavior in the state.
“While Santa Ana fires are not new to Southern California, this type of explosive fire has never occurred in January, and has only occurred once in December,” he says. Crystal Kolden at the University of California, Merced.
Since January 8, at least four fires have broken out in the Los Angeles area. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The two largest fires are the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, each burning more than 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres) per day. The fires have killed at least two people and destroyed at least a thousand homes, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate. The fires have also threatened NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Getty Museum.
Strong winds in Santa Ana reached speeds of up to 129 kilometers (80 miles) per hour, fanning the flames and fueling their rapid spread. The windstorm is expected to be the most intense since 2011, with “extremely critical fire weather conditions”. forecast to continue on the evening of January 8, as reported by the US National Weather Service. Fire weather could continue until January 10, challenging firefighting efforts.
It’s a “very unlikely sequence of climate extremes and weather events” that have contributed to the intense fires, he says. Park Williams at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Santa Anas are a common feature of Southern California weather, but wet fall and winter weather tends to limit their impact on wildfires. This year, that rainy weather hasn’t arrived yet, leaving the vegetation dry and ready to burn. There is also more vegetation for fuel thanks to the wet winter of 2023 which encouraged growth. During 2024 intense heat and drought dried it up.
The combination of lots of fine fuels, drought and strong, hot, dry winds leads to “the most explosive fire behavior imaginable,” Kolden says.
Officials are still investigating what started the fire. Understanding the potential role of climate change will also take some time. However, there is reason to believe that the fire has worsened.
Average sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, likely driven by climate change, have also contributed to drier conditions. according to Daniel Swain At UCLA, these higher ocean temperatures have created a high pressure ridge this has prevented the wet weather carried by the jet stream from reaching southern California.
The region has seen this type of high-pressure weather system occur more frequently over the past fifty years, which he says could be a symptom of climate change. Daniel Kaya at the University of California, San Diego.
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