California Wildfires Devastate Communities: 24 Dead, 12,000+ Structures Destroyed
By: Jack Bartlett ’25
What started off as little brush fires quickly grew into California’s horrific wildfire disaster, spreading havoc throughout Los Angeles County and beyond. Twenty-four people have been killed, over 12,000 structures have been damaged, and hundreds of families are still affected by fires that are not showing any signs of slowing down as of this past weekend.
The largest fire is the Palisades Fire, which began early Tuesday morning in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. Due to strong winds, it has burned more than 23,000 acres and is still spreading. Over 200,000 individuals in Los Angeles County have had to leave their homes due to this fire alone. The city has been rattled by the fire’s rapid spread, forcing citizens to evacuate quickly, many of them abandoning their cars as roads became impossible to drive on.
The terrible fire is only one of five fires that are causing havoc in the area right now. Over 14,000 acres have been burned by the Eaton Fire in northern Los Angeles County. The San Fernando Valley’s Hurst and Kennedy Fires are getting closer to being contained. About 43 acres of land have burnt since the Sunset Fire started on Wednesday in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Runyon Canyon.
With 24 deaths to date and nearly 5,300 buildings and automobiles damaged in the Palisades Fire alone, there are still about 11,000 structures in danger. Another 166,000 individuals are being warned to evacuate.
The harm is already done, even though fires like the Woodley and Sunset Fires have been completely contained. The Palisades and Eaton fires are still burning, and there is much work to be done to put them out. As of January 13, the Hurst Fire is 95% controlled, Eaton is 33%, and the Palisades Fire is barely 17% contained.
The fires have taken a toll on infrastructure as well. Thousands of customers are without power—18,500 in Los Angeles County alone, according to the LA Department of Water and Power, with another 63,000 in surrounding areas served by Southern California Edison. The wildfires have also affected some of the rich and famous. Celebrities like Mel Gibson, Jhené Aiko, Paris Hilton, and Rosie O’Donnell have lost their homes in the firestorm.
With fire crews working tirelessly to contain these blazes, residents are left to pick up the pieces of their lives. As the fires continue to rage, the full scope of the destruction is still unfolding, with communities left to reckon with the devastation for years to come.
Sources:
- Czachor, Emily Mae. “Los Angeles Fire Maps Show Updating View of Where Palisades, Eaton and More Fires Are Burning Right Now.” CBS News, 8 Jan. 2025.
- “California Fire Map: Tracking Wildfires Burning across the State.” The San Francisco Chronicle.
- Yeung, Jessie, et al. “Deadly Los Angeles Wildfires: Crews Scramble to Contain Blazes ahead of High Winds.” CNN, 12 Jan. 2025.
- “Celebrities Who Have Lost Homes in the Los Angeles Fires, and What They’ve Said.” People.com, 2025.
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