A historic firestorm disaster
On January 7, 2025, the Los Angeles region experienced exceptionally strong Santa Ana winter winds, coupled with the effects of a long dry season, making the region more susceptible to fire. Beginning with a fire in the mountains near the Palisades community, additional fires developed in the San Fernando hills, including in the Eaton Canyon near the Altadena communities. Firefighters on the ground battled hurricane-force winds carrying sparks and debris as aerial resources were grounded due to dangerous wind conditions.
In anticipation of these conditions, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services on January 6, predeployed resources to Southern California and warned local communities, with the Governor prepositioning 65 fire engines, 7 water tenders, 7 helicopters, 9 dozers, 105 specialized personnel, and 45 additional crews, and coordinated with local governments. Anticipating greater threats of fire due to climate change, since 2019, Governor Newsom has expanded the state’s fire response, nearly doubling the CalFIRE budget from $2 billion to $3.8 billion, doubling CalFIRE personnel from 5,829 to 10,741, and increasing the budget for forest management, including prescribed fires, from $200 million in 2018 to $2 billion, plus an annual $200 million baseline.
Despite these efforts, in January 2025, a total of 12 fires broke out in Los Angeles region, stretching resources thin amid severe conditions and high winds. Making use of its longstanding mutual aid system, California continued to deploy additional emergency response assets. These deployments added to the resources the Governor deployed before the fires broke out — bringing totals to over 16,000 boots on the ground, including 2,500 National Guard members; 1,800 fire engines, water tenders, dozers, and 80 aircraft.