LA wildfires fully contained after three weeks, state agency reports
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Cal Fire, California's firefighting agency, updated its website to confirm 100 percent containment of both fires, meaning their perimeters were fully under control.
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The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in Los Angeles, Tuesday, January 7, 2025. (AP)
Two massive wildfires in Los Angeles were declared fully contained on Friday after raging for over three weeks, claiming around 30 lives and displacing thousands.
The Palisades and Eaton fires, the most destructive in the history of the city, scorched more than 37,000 acres (150 square kilometers), destroying over 10,000 homes and causing damage estimated to reach hundreds of billions of dollars.
Cal Fire, California's firefighting agency, updated its website on Friday to confirm 100 percent containment of both fires, meaning their perimeters were fully under control. Evacuation orders had already been lifted, as the fires no longer posed a significant threat.
Driving the news
The fires, which began on January 7, are still under investigation for their cause. However, human-induced climate change played a crucial role by reducing rainfall, drying out vegetation, and amplifying the overlap of flammable drought conditions with strong Santa Ana winds. According to an analysis released this week, global warming, driven by fossil fuel emissions, made the conditions fueling the fires approximately 35 percent more likely.
The blazes ravaged affluent neighborhoods like Pacific Palisades and Malibu, as well as Altadena, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate.
"Our recovery effort is based around getting people back home to rebuild as quickly and safely as possible," said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in a statement Friday. "We are making sure that the Palisades will be safe as residents access their properties."
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell added that law enforcement presence in the area would be "more than 10 times" what it was prior to the fires.
Private meteorological firm AccuWeather has estimated the economic damage and loss to be between $250 billion and $275 billion.
