L.A. fires still rage as possible reasons emerge

By Lynn La
CalMatters

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Firefighters continue to battle wildfires that broke out Tuesday in Southern California as more than 100,000 residents remain under evacuation orders. 

To date, the fires have killed at least 24 people and destroyed 12,000 structures. Powerful Santa Ana winds, which have come on the heels of an unusually dry season, show no signs of letting up — and officials are bracing for more fire threats through the week. 

The largest of the three active fires in Los Angeles County is the Palisades Fire, which grew to more than 23,000 acres and was 13% contained as of Sunday evening. Federal officials are looking into whether the fire could have originated from a fire that began New Year’s Eve.

Several dozen miles northeast is the deadly Eaton Fire, where investigators are scrutinizing an electrical transmission tower as a possible reason behind the blaze. And officials from the Southern California Edison utility company are investigating if downed equipment is responsible for the Hurst Fire.

On Sunday Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to suspend requirements from the state’s hallmark environmental law in order to rebuild homes and businesses in the affected region faster. AccuWeather estimates that damages and the economic hit to the regional economy is now at least $250 billion.

The state’s insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, said the fires are expected to “complicate an already complicated market,” and has banned insurance companies from canceling or rejecting renewals on policies for one year. 

Republican state lawmakers are urging Newsom to call a special session focused on wildfires and the state’s insurance market crisis. 

And after securing federal relief aid from the Biden administration, Gov. Newsom extended an invitation to President-elect Donald Trump Friday to visit California and survey the damage, write CalMatters’ Alexei Koseff and Yue Stella Yu.

Trump has publicly slammed Newsom and the state’s water policies as part of the blame for the fires. (Severe winds and an arid regional climate are why the fires are so intense; sending more water from the state’s north would not have helped.) Though Trump has yet to respond to Newsom’s offer, he did take to social media to describe the officials handling the wildfires as “incompetent.”

Learn more about Newsom, Trump and the L.A. wildfires from Alexei and Stella’s story. And check out this visual essay from CalMatters’ contributing photographers, who captured the devastation first-hand.

This article was originally published by CalMatters