For most, knowledge of fire extends to the flickering light of a scented candle or the warmth of a fireplace in winter. The blue cones of a gas burner, or the crackling sparks of a campfire at night. 

Yet, for a majority of Californians, fire is more like an old acquaintance, an intimate foe at times. Recently, these meet-and-greets between Southern California residents and roaring blazes have become more often than is comfortable.

Kicking off the 2025 year are the numerous fires in Los Angeles County as they burn through countless acres and livelihoods. According to the Los Angeles Times’ live updates (LA Times) as of January 12, 2024, “There have been at least 16 deaths and more than 10,000 structures damaged or destroyed.” 

On January 7, 2025, the Palisades Fire flared rapidly from the picturesque coastal residential area of the Pacific Palisades, burning around 23,700 acres. It has affected the surrounding cities of Malibu, Santa Monica and districts of western Los Angeles such as Brentwood and Bel-Air with evacuations, dangerously low air quality and blockaded major roads like the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). 

On the evening of the same day, the Eaton Fire also sparked to life and swept from its origin in Eaton Canyon across parts of Altadena, Pasadena and more. Aided by the high-speed Santa Ana winds, with gusts up to 100 miles per hour, the inferno has burned 14,100 acres of both uninhabited hillsides and suburban areas. 

More specifically, Ventura County has been the site of numerous destructive fires in the past ten years according to the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA). November of 2018 witnessed 1,643 structures destroyed in the Woolsey Fire, and the recent Mountain Fire in November of 2024 also caused significant damage. The Thomas Fire that occurred in December of 2017 is even included in the top ten largest wildfires in California’s past few centuries, resulting in over $2 billion in damages. 

Thanks to these two deadly fires, along with the fully contained Kenneth Fire and 89 percent contained Hurst Fire in northeast LA, there has been a massive displacement of residents. 

But where are these evacuees going? After being forced to leave everything behind, thousands of evacuees are facing immense challenges of constant fear of what they may return to — or if they will ever be able to return at all. Many of these residents are desperately seeking evacuation shelters, in hopes to escape the nightmare of the fire and find safety. Many places are filling up fast, leaving residents of LA resorting to staying with relatives and friends in safer areas. 

For instance, many evacuees have fled to Foothill Technology High School’s (Foothill Tech) hometown of Ventura. Students at Foothill Tech have provided shelter to relatives and friends in a heroic effort to alleviate the stress of the natural disaster and provide support.

The Altadena-Eaton fire, which has been burning for days with minimal containment, has caused the damage and destruction of over 7,000 structures according to CBS. For evacuees like Heather Ragusa, the experience has been an incredible strain on her and her family’s lives, as she has two young children and much of family in town. 

“We were in a red flag zone next to an evacuation mandate zone,” Ragusa shared. “Schools in our neighborhood were closed due to the poor air quality, so our lives were already disrupted.” While Ragusa was forced to seek shelter with family in Ventura, many other evacuees were not as lucky. 

According to NBC News,  The fires in Los Angeles have forced 180,000 people from their homes. There are roughly 75,000 people in Los Angeles experiencing homelessness, and evacuation shelters are filling with newly displaced people.

Furthermore, the migration of evacuees throughout surrounding regions is not the only way the rest of California has been impacted. Shutting off large sections of the power grid — in an effort to prevent further sparks — has left neighboring counties such as Ventura and Riverside with days of unreliable electricity, often having to resort to candlelight and dark classrooms.

Regarding the loss of power on Foothill Tech’s campus, Principal Courtney Johnson stated, “I think we’ve had around five days this year without power, but that’s unfortunately the new reality because we have to err on the side of caution.”

When thinking of the ongoing destruction and distress that this fire has caused, one cannot help but be reminded of the Thomas and Mountain fires, which have similarly deteriorated California in recent years. These past fires, like the current LA fires, have caused indescribable damage to California land, buildings, and residents. 

Mackenzie Gamble ‘26, who was eight years old during the Thomas Fire, stated, “We got alerts saying that we needed to evacuate and that our house was going to burn down. My whole family and I were very panicked, and it was scary.” Although her family’s house didn’t burn down, they had to evacuate for a couple of weeks, during which she couldn’t attend school and was confined indoors because of the poor air quality outside.

Similarly, during the Mountain Fire, Foothill Tech’s principal Courtney Johnson dealt with the same situation as the fire reached the street of her home. “We were extremely fortunate … there was no damage whatsoever,” Johnson shared, “other homes in the neighborhood, not directly on my street, but the street above ours, were completely lost …  I can’t even begin to fathom the headache of going through the whole insurance process.” 

The damage of this situation reflects the current LA fires very similarly, with thousands of homes being lost, and residents losing possession of their belongings.

However, the aftereffects of California’s frequent wildfires aren’t restricted to just the immense physical damages. These destructive events also take an emotional and mental toll on those involved, whether it’s from losing a generations-old home full of family keepsakes or facing a personal financial crisis. Johnson brought a different emotional perspective, stating “I really had no loss, but I still felt a little guilty — that others are losing everything, but somehow my house was safe.”

As the fires continue to rage all throughout the LA area, it is clear that this disaster is sure to leave a lasting impact on the city and its residents. Thousands of evacuees are displaced and are coping with the mental strain of the waiting-game they’ve been placed under. 

For firefighters, the emotional strain is just as real. They work exhausting and perilous hours at the risk of their own life, reining in the dancing outlines of treacherous fires. As these community heroes fight against unstoppable forces of nature, memories of Southern California’s long chain of past fires return to haunt victims.  

The ongoing LA fire continues to bring up memories of a long chain of past severe California fires, such as the Thomas fire and Mountain fire. It is clear that more preparation is needed to take place from local forces to ensure the safety of residents, infrastructure and those fighting the growing flames.