While the students and staff of Hempfield Area are experiencing the heavy snows, icy winds and an increase of FID days with PA’s winter wonderland, California’s City of Angels is facing the opposite problem. Unfortunately, since the start of the New Year, Los Angeles has been battling a severe series of wildfires that have been wreaking havoc across the city. So far, the fires have burned through about 40,000 acres of land, an area roughly the size of 400 Disneylands.
On the morning of January 7 in the Pacific Palisades, the Palisade Fires erupted as a brush fire. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), the fire likely damaged or destroyed 5,316 structures. The Eaton Fire erupted shortly after, near a canyon located in the national forest lands north of Downtown Los Angeles. It is estimated that 7,800 structures were damaged, if not destroyed in this blaze. The Hurst Fire affected Los Angeles’s beautiful suburban neighborhoods by expanding across 799 acres and damaging two structures. A week after the first fires appeared, the Auto Fire erupted in Ventura County. So far, there have been 28 fatalities due to the fires themselves as well as damaged infrastructures. Though mostly contained, the city is still dealing with all the destruction as more fires are expected to erupt due to weather concerns.
But what is the cause of these fires and their chaos? The answer– the combination of offshore winds and drought-like conditions. Since October 1, 2024, Southern California has experienced less than 10% of its average rainfall. Across the region, winds have reached top speeds of 70 mph as smoke fills the air. “Climate change, including increased heat, extended drought, and a thirsty atmosphere, has been a key driver in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the western United States,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says.
In California, there have been nearly 35,000 emergency responses due to these ongoing fires. The state of California is not alone in their struggles. Thousands of people across the country, including celebrities and social media influencers, have set up GoFundMe’s in order to raise money and awareness for the victims involved. TikTok is filled with videos about people donating food, toys, clothes, and hygiene products to those in need. So many families have lost their homes, memories, and lives due to these tragic wildfires. It is important to raise as much awareness as possible and help where you can. We can not predict the weather. What we can predict is the human nature to help those affected by tragedy.