At the start of the new year, California experienced devastating fires across its state, leaving homes, buildings, and people destroyed.
The Palisades fire hit north western California in the Pacific Palisades on the morning of January 7, covering up to 23,448 acres, according to NBC News. Experts say the cause for the Palisades fire relied heavily on the perfect weather conditions. USA Today reports, “hurricane-force winds, low humidity and relentless drought conditions.”
The Eaton fire hit the Los Angeles area near a canyon soon after the Palisades fire started up. This one covered 14,021 acres, NBC News counted. While most people are not completely sure of the Eaton fire’s cause, there are fingers pointing at Southern California Edison. According to Los Angeles Daily News, lawsuits have been filed against SCE, claiming that their utility ignited the Eaton Fire.
The third biggest fire was the Hurst fire; it started on January 7 and while it didn’t affect as many people and buildings as the previous two fires, it still covered 799 acres before it was fully contained.
Beyond the facts of the destruction, lives have been severely impacted: many people have seen their homes become rubble, lost their loved ones, or suffered other consequences.
One story on The Guardian tells of teachers and students displaced because their schools were burned down. The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) acted in controversial ways, such as opening back up quicker than some expected and teachers moving classrooms on weekends. While LAUSD aims to prioritize the safety and wellbeing of students and staff, parents have made some other choices, causing organizations such as the YMCA to jump in, opening programs for children.
Another story on Outside tells about a female hiking guide named Amanda Getty. When she first heard of the fire, she went to go see it herself, which she later admitted was not the smartest thing to do. At 3:30 AM, her neighbor texted in all caps, “TIME TO GO” as police came, circling the neighborhood. She, her daughter, and her dog raced out of their house, getting away as fast as they could. Her husband was in Colorado on a business trip, but the next day, they went together to see their neighborhood. In the middle of burning houses, their own house miraculously stood intact.
Among this chaos, State Farm made things even more difficult. LA Times reported the timeline of strict policies State Farm made: in March of 2023 it stopped renewing property policies because of “wildfire risks and other concerns”; the following May, State Farm stopped new insurances except for personal auto policies; in June, “asked for a 30% rate increase for its homeowners policies”.
When they requested a 22% home insurance increase to decrease the financial burden posed by the fire, insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, turned it down.
The 2025 California fires, undoubtedly, have made a huge impact on its citizens. Countless stories have been recorded in different journals, voicing the perspectives of famous celebrities living in the Palisades or illustrating traumatized people trying to find home. These catastrophic conflagrations caused quite a commotion; while California has seen many wildfires, these have stood out due to the immense damage. Yet, through these experiences, we can connect, reach out to others, and offer help.