Jan 15, 2025 11:57:05 am
Manhajul Islam, S. Ak - BATS Consulting
A devastating wildfire broke out in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon (7/1) at local time. It burned through a number of neighborhoods, including: Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth, and Hurst. The fires were further worsened by the lack of water supply—and even running out—that firefighting crews needed to tackle the fires. (BBC News Indonesia, 2025).
Causes
These wildfires, which have been burning for several days, are triggered by strong Santa Ana winds, coupled with dry Los Angeles weather conditions. Weather conditions and the direct effects of climate change are expected to continue triggering more wildfires over the next few days. According to the US National Weather Service, Santa Ana winds blow through the Southern California mountains from east to west. The forecast calls for strong Santa Ana winds to continue through the middle of this week.
Impacts
(Source: BBC Indonesia)
These wildfires turned the Los Angeles area into a “sea of fire” that burned an area of 160 square kilometers (The Associated Press, 2025). As of January 12, 2025, through the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner (2025), it was reported that the number of deaths continued to rise, and had so far lost 24 lives. In addition, reported by Robert Luna—Los Angeles County Sheriff—who said that 16 people had been declared missing during the wildfire. The scorched buildings themselves were recorded to have reached up to 12 thousand buildings (Rosdalina, 2025). Currently, an order has been made for 153 thousand Los Angeles residents to evacuate themselves to a safer area.
The fires also resulted in financial losses, with AccuWeather estimating the damage and losses to be as high as $150 billion. This led to losses for insurance companies, which also assessed huge losses. J.P. Morgan doubled its insured loss estimate to more than $20 billion, while Wells Fargo estimated an even greater loss of $60 billion. This made the wildfires the highest loss natural disaster in the history of California, USA (Saini, 2025). In addition, the impact was also carried over to the US stock market, where many companies collapsed. An example is the multi-line insurance company, Mercury General, which experienced the biggest drop among other insurance companies by almost 20%.
In the long run, these wildfires will have severe effects on the environment. Waters in US forests contribute 80% of the freshwater resources that are then used by over 3,400 public drinking water systems. With each forest wildfire, the watershed becomes more vulnerable to stormwater runoff and erosion. After a wildfire, the soils capacity to absorb water is severely compromised. In addition, fire debris, ash and chemicals from burnt buildings can contaminate water sources. This can then reduce the quality of drinking water in nearby communities.
Another impact is the loss of forest vegetation that can capture 7.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually due to these fires. Forest wildfires can also disrupt wildlife ecosystems, especially if they are protected species. The presence of fires means that many natural habitats for wildlife are destroyed. Many species will lose shelter, food sources, and protection, which can lead to population declines. Naturally, damaged water and soil have adverse effects on wildlife. Toxic air particles from forest fires are also a contributing factor.
Lastly, the effect on air quality, where wildfires release carbon dioxide, has proven to be very high. As was the case in California back in 2020, these wildfires emitted 91 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. Particles from smoke and burning chemicals can also travel long distances, further reducing air quality and causing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in humans and wildlife (Morrison, 2022).
Recovery Efforts
Many efforts are being made to fight these catastrophic wildfires. Seven neighboring states, the federal government, as well as Canada and Mexico have sent resources to California to help with the fire-fighting process. However, it has not been possible to fully tackle the wildfires. For example, the Eaton Fire is only about 15% contained.
Several charities also opened donations for this disaster. Some of them are the California Community Foundation, California Fire Foundation, L.A. Fire Department Foundation, Pasadena Humane Society, Ventura County Community Foundation, American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles, Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Direct Relief, World Central Kitchen, and others (Lavietes, 2025). In other cases, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has prepared assistance, which is planned to be distributed through funds for home repairs and money to replace lost food or medicine.
ASPECTS | DETAILS |
Casualties | 24 confirmed deaths, 16 people are still missing. |
Evacuation of Residents | 153.000 residents were ordered to evacuate to safer areas. |
Financial Impact | Losses reached up to $150 billion due to widespread fires. |
Impact to the Insurance Sector | J.P. Morgan estimates insured losses at $20 billion, while Wells Fargo estimates up to $60 billion. |
Impact on the Stock Market | Multi-line insurer Mercury General has seen its stocks fall by almost 20%. |
Impact to the Environment | Forest wildfires worsen drinking water quality, reduce carbon capture, destroy animal habitats, and pollute air quality. |
Recovery Efforts | Support from seven neighboring states, Canada, Mexico, and various charities for extinguishment and rehabilitation. |
Relationship with Climate Change
(Source: Janet Loerhke/USA Today)
Most of western United States, including California, experienced a decades-long drought that ended just two years ago, leaving the region vulnerable (BBC News Indonesia, 2025). Climate change, including rising heat, long droughts and an arid atmosphere, has been a key contributor to the increased risk and extent of these wildfires. The Santa Ana winds—often referred to as “devil winds”—have added to the wildfires severity due to their strong wind gusts, reaching up to 112 kilometers per hour. These winds were also partly responsible for the 2018 Woolsey wildfire in Los Angeles that burned nearly 20.000 hectares.
According to Scott Capps-Head of Atmospheric Data Solutions-climate change will have a significant influence on the frequency and characteristics of Santa Ana winds, but it is not the only cause. One notable influence, however, is that a more obvious connection between the Los Angeles fires and climate change is the lack of rainfall during the regions rainy season. Several areas of Southern California have received only 10% of normal rainfall since October, making the region ripe for wildfires.
The current climate change directly affects the global hydroclimate system, which is referred to as hydroclimate whiplash. Global warming caused by increased greenhouse gas emissions has changed the pattern of water distribution on Earth. In this case, very wet conditions are immediately followed by dry weather patterns, usually accompanied by above-average temperatures. The atmosphere becomes thirstier as the climate warms, pulling more water vapor from plants. This causes vegetation to turn green and then dry out due to evaporation, providing plenty of “fuel” to start wildfires. In short, climate change did not trigger the devastating fires in Los Angeles. However, it was the consequences of climate change that made the wildfires worse (Freedman, 2025).