Drought conditions, low humidity, a build-up of vegetation from the previous winter, and hurricane-force Santa Ana winds—which in some locations have reached 100 miles per hour (160 km/h; 45 m/s)—have all contributed to the fires. At least 28 people have been killed by the flames as of January 25, 2025; over 200,000 have been evacuated; and over 16,000 structures have been burnt or damaged. The two biggest fires, the Eaton Fire in Altadena and the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades have caused the majority of the damage. In California's history, they are probably the third and second most devastating fires, respectively.
The possibility of a fire due to the windstorm was anticipated. According to a January 2 warning from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), Southern California conditions created "above normal significant fire potential." Local National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters issued a Fire Weather Watch that same day, citing the possibility of severe fires.
On January 7, the first day of critical fire weather in the region, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) predicted an extremely critical risk of fire weather for January 8. On January 3, the SPC predicted a crucial risk of fire weather for January 8.
There has been at least a critical fire weather danger for Southern California every day between January 9 and January 15. On January 13 and 14, there were consecutive Extremely Critical Fire Risks. The Critical Fire Risk for January 20–21 was issued on January 17. By January 19, it had been elevated to Extremely Critical Risk, and by January 20, it had also been upgraded to Extremely Critical. The SPC also predicted critical fire weather for January 22–23 later on January 20.
The NWS declared a "particularly dangerous situation" that posed a high risk to life and property and issued a red flag warning for Ventura and Los Angeles counties, which indicates the highest severe fire threat. The warning stressed that strong winds and little humidity might cause fires to spread quickly. The NWS issued a red flag warning for Ventura and Los Angeles counties, indicating the maximum severe fire hazard, and proclaimed a "particularly dangerous situation" that posed a significant risk to life and property. Strong winds and low humidity might accelerate the spread of fires, the warning emphasized.
The majority of Los Angeles County had reached moderate drought status by late December 2024, which increased the risk of fire because of the dried-out vegetation during what was once the area's wet season.
DROUGHT
With extreme drought in many parts of Southern California, the driest start to the rainy season on record, and the driest nine-month period on record before the wind event and the ensuing fires, dry vegetation made the perilous conditions worse. A study that was published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment claims that the region's climate change has caused temperature increases as well as fluctuations in rainfall levels.
The abrupt growth of grasses, bushes, and trees during droughts interspersed with periods of intense precipitation, such as the wet seasons in 2022–2023 and 2023–2024, causes them to quickly dry out and serve as fuel for wildfires.
WINDS
The events included exceptionally strong Santa Ana winds, with predicted gusts of 50 to 80 miles per hour (80 to 130 km/h; 22 to 36 m/s) in populated parts of Ventura and Los Angeles counties, such as the Los Angeles Basin and the San Gabriel Valley, which had previously been shielded by their lower elevations. Even more severe conditions were expected at higher elevations, where wind speeds of 80 to 100 mph (130 to 160 km/h; 36 to 45 m/s) were predicted. Mountain waves formed as the jet stream moved from north to south across Southern California mountain ranges, speeding up wind speeds as air dropped into the Los Angeles Basin and other adjacent lowlands.
OTHER CONTRIBUTING FACTOR
The massive 117,000,000 US gal (440,000,000 L; 97,000,000 imp gal) Santa Ynez Reservoir, part of Los Angeles's water system in the upper Pacific Palisades, had been drained completely to fix a tear in its cover before the first flames. The DWP had intended to have it repaired and put back into service by April 2024 after a DWP employee discovered the tear for the first time in January 2024. Former and current DWP officials stated that the Palisades would have had stronger water pressure if the reservoir had not been empty when the flames started and it was still empty in January 2025.
Later, the reservoir's reopening date was moved to February 2025. In order to avoid water stagnation and related problems with chemical concentrations and bacterial growth, officials usually kept the reservoir's water levels lower during the winter, according to former Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) General Manager Martin Adams, who said that the repair efforts had been ongoing "for a while."
There are currently about 200,000 individuals under evacuation orders. Approximately 88,000 persons were placed under evacuation orders on January 21; an additional 84,800 were placed in evacuation alert zones across the whole county of Los Angeles. About 470 prisoners were evacuated from a county jail in Castaic, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.
As of January 24, the wildfires were responsible for 28 fatalities. Eleven of those were ascribed to the Palisades Fire, and seventeen to the Eaton Fire. These numbers correspond to the fifth and fourteenth deadliest wildfires in California history, respectively. The Eaton Fire in Altadena claimed the lives of Anthony Mitchell, 67, and his son Justin Mitchell. They were both discovered by Justin's bed, perhaps because Anthony was trying to save him. A significant head injury was sustained by a 25-year-old firefighter, and numerous burn injuries were reported.
Many burn victims made their way to Duke's Malibu restaurant at around 9 p.m. PST, where they received medical attention before being sent to hospitals. When his cottage on his mother's Malibu estate was burned by the Palisades Fire, 32-year-old Rory Sykes, a British and Australian citizen with cerebral palsy, died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Until his remains were found, he was not initially included in the dead toll. Shelley Sykes, his mother, blamed the tragedy on local infrastructure problems, claiming that the response was delayed due to unsuccessful emergency calls and the necessity to leave the home to notify firemen. On January 9, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna stated that once canine and forensic searches could be fully implemented, it would be easier to determine the exact number of fatalities. Shortly after leaving his house because of the Sunset Fire, filmmaker David Lynch, who was already in ill condition, passed away.