While we still don’t know the source of the LA fires, one thing is clear: climate change created the perfect environment for it. A drought dried out the vegetation, high wind gusts fanned the flames, and other factors fueled this disaster.

It is worth pointing out that while climate change played a key role in the LA Fires, it was not the only factor. Poor forestry management, lack of water to fight fires, and other errors made the fires uncontainable.

Today, we will look at the main causes of the LA Fires and how climate change impacted them.

The Drought

California has experienced drought conditions since 2020, which continue to this day. These conditions are brought upon by higher temperatures with little precipitation (rain). This not only creates a water shortage but also leaves vegetation dried out.

As extreme heat plagued California for years, this created a moisture deficit in most materials. In other words, materials like vegetation, wood, and more dried out. This makes them the perfect kindling for a bigger flame.

Due to a 1-in-50-year rainfall deficit, it did not rain during the winter. To put that into perspective, there was a 2% chance that it would rain. Naturally, this prolonged a moisture deficit in the area.

And when combined with the fact that 2024 was the warmest year on record, it created the perfect environment for the fire.

Without question, these conditions were created by climate change. Normally, the Earth is heated by trapping heat produced by the sun in our atmosphere, but due to human activity, more heat-trapping gasses have been produced.

While there are many examples of these heat-trapping gases, the most commonly found are carbon dioxide and methane.

The Winds

What made the LA Fires so destructive was the speed at which they spread, and that was due to the extreme gusts of wind. On average, the wind speeds during this event would range between 80 and 100 MPH.

There is currently no evidence to suggest that climate change had any influence on these winds.

Strong Santa Ann winds are a normal occurrence in California. They occur when air is pushed toward southern California, which funnels through the mountains. This causes the air to warm, which accelerates the wind speed.

This condition occurs normally, and the winds that occurred this time were not even record-breaking. For reference, in 2011, sustained winds reached 97 MPH, with gusts reaching 167 MPH.

The winds played a major factor in this fire because each gust not only fanned the flames but also spread embers.

As a result, emergency personnel were unable to contain the fire at first because they were spreading over land that had a lot of combustible material. They could also not fight the fires directly due to a water shortage and reduced pressures from many of the hydrants being active simultaneously.

Forestry Management

California as a whole is no stranger to forest fires. One of the main reasons it is so susceptible to fires is due to poor forestry management. Forests in California are unnaturally dense.

In the event of a fire, a single flame could spread throughout acres of forest with virtually no way to contain it.

The LA fires were no different. The fire quickly spread from its origin into nearby forests, which were dried out from the drought. The wind then picked up embers and blew them into other densely populated forests.

To prevent this, forests need to be thinned, and debris must be cleared. This will help make it harder for fires to spread and help first responders contain the fires before they get out of control.

For example, there are many downed trees as a result of the strong wind gusts in the area. These trees need to be removed, otherwise, they act as firewood. Downed trees get drier than living trees as the moisture leaves them as they decay.

Thus, they become the perfect kindling for a widespread fire. This issue is not exclusive to trees.

Dead shrubbery is an even worse firestarter that is often left in place. Poor forest management continues to be a problem for California, and the neglect will only lead to more destructive fires.

Building Conditions

California is the most populated state in the country, with a population that exceeds 39 million. This has created many struggles within the housing industry. Simply put, there are not enough houses to go around.

As such, the state is building more, but they are being built in high-risk fire areas.

This makes the likelihood of structures being lost or damaged in fires considerably higher. These homes built in fire-prone areas will help fuel fires and spread them into areas that are not fire-prone because they are connected.

To make matters worse, houses in California and most of the US are built primarily with wood. This is because it is a cheaper material to work with, and in California specifically, it performs better than concrete during earthquakes.

It is also worth noting that California consists of hills, a lot of them. It is very difficult for emergency personnel to properly address fire concerns and put out active fires when they are not on level ground.

To summarize this, we are building houses made of wood in areas that are at a high risk of fires. This outcome was inevitable.

Lack of Water

One of the most problematic issues of the LA fires was the lack of water. Although there were plenty of fingers to point at conservation efforts of fish and whatnot, the truth is that when all of the hydrants are in constant use, the pressure is greatly decreased.

In reality, the reservoir levels in California were at healthy levels during the catastrophe. However, there is only so much pressure we can feed through the lines at any given time. And the sheer volume of fires ensured a lot of hydrants and lines were in constant use.

In fact, experts attested how no water system in the world could have handled the load demanded in California during the crisis.

It’s like the water pressure in your house. When taking a shower and someone decides to water the lawn, run the dishwasher, run the clothes washer, and turn on all of the faucets in the house, the water pressure in the shower is greatly diminished. Now, take that example and multiply it by a thousand.

Not to mention that the further away from the pumping stations you go, the lower the water pressure.

What Started the LA Fires?

The origin of the fire is currently unknown, however, Los Angeles County has filed a lawsuit claiming it is clear that Edison, the utility company, was responsible for the fire.

It is believed that the fire originated as a result of faulty Edison equipment, but the investigation is still pending.

While this fire is still unclear, utility companies in California have a history of starting wildfires. Some of the most destructive fires have been directly linked to these companies, which is why the Wildfire Fund was founded.

This 21-billion-dollar fund seeks to protect utilities from going bankrupt as a result of being responsible for such events. However, the price tag of this fire exceeds that and is currently estimated between 28 and 35 billion dollars.

This has demonstrated that the fund is not big enough to cover the damages if the company is found responsible. Securing funding for this again will be challenging, to say the least, due to the likelihood that it will keep happening.

This not only poses problems for rebuilding the affected areas but also creates power concerns as utilities may not want to operate in California. It is a complicated issue and one not likely to be solved overnight.

It will be interesting to see the outcome of this lawsuit and what evidence is presented.

What Was the Biggest Factor?

As you can see, there are several key factors at play that made the LA Fires one of the most destructive events in the state’s history. Determining the most impactful is not easy, but I think it’s fair to say two factors stand above the others.

The drought conditions that dried out the land and the winds that carried embers to spread the fire are the biggest culprits.

If the land was not in drought conditions, it would be more difficult for a fire to start. The moisture inside of plants helps make them more fire resistant, thus preventing the fire from happening in the first place.

While California has always gone through dry and wet spells, what the state has experienced recently has been extreme. Climate change is to blame for the drought conditions. The higher the temperatures, the worse it will get and the more likely fires can occur.

The extreme winds that fanned the flames and spread embers are equally to blame but do not correlate with climate change.

These winds spread the fires at a fast rate, which made it impossible for firefighters to contain them before they came into contact with homes and other structures. Without the wind, the fire would likely have never reached residents.

The winds also made it more dangerous for helicopters to dump water on the fires. Thus, it not only spread the flames but defended them. While these are the biggest factors, the others are very impactful.

That said, there’s no denying that building nomes in a fire zone, failing to thin forests, and not having enough water to fight fires are similarly sized issues. However, these are more preventative measures than causes.

Climate Change Increases the Likelihood of Wildfires

California is an example of how climate change makes tragedies like wildfires more common.

The world is getting warmer as more greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are emitted into our atmosphere. 2024 was officially the hottest year in recorded history, and we will undoubtedly see this record broken regularly.

As the temperatures continue to rise, it will dry out regions, thus making them more susceptible to fires.

At the same time, this will also make freshwater more scarce. Thus, not only do we lose access to a way to put out the fires, but we also lose drinking water, which is even more devastating.

To combat this, we need better forest management alongside better building standards. Building housing in an area that is a fire hazard should never be allowed, especially when the homes are made from wood.

Most importantly, we need to prevent the planet from getting warmer, which can only be achieved by lowering emissions.

What do you think is the biggest factor in the LA Fires?