Latest news with #HughesFire
Bloomberg
19-03-2025
- Climate
- Bloomberg
The Scary Thing About the Wildfire That Was Stopped
CityLab Environment The Palisades and Eaton blazes were deadlier, but the fast-moving Hughes Fire, which threatened new homes in a Los Angeles exurb, could be a preview of future disasters. When Bob Lewis first heard about the wildfire spreading near his hometown of Castaic, California, on Jan. 22, his initial reaction was, 'what fire?' The president of the town council for the hilly and windswept unincorporated community, Lewis was in his car on the 136 Freeway heading home from Ventura when he got a call from emergency management officials around midday, telling him that they were closing down a freeway off-ramp: What would become the Hughes Fire had ignited a little more than seven miles from Castaic.
Daily Tribune
11-02-2025
- Science
- Daily Tribune
A Quick Historical Glance at the California Fires
Conventional wisdom has it that fires are destructive to the ecosystem when gone out of control or used more often. Repeated burning could devastate forests and trees and is likely to increase erosion and destroy the mineral content of the soil, undermining the natural habitat for both humans and animals. While this might hold water, it has also been ecologically proven that, when employed on a small scale, wildfire can be a sustainable environmental force. Within the context of the whole expanse of what is today the United States, historical records reveal that man-caused fires had been frequently set for various purposes by both the indigenous inhabitants, now known as the Native Americans, and the Euro-Americans up until the dawn of the twentieth century. Fires, for instance, were burned to clear forests for more settlements in the untamed wilderness and prepare the ground for planting. They were also used as a subsistence strategy, whereby people set fires to the woods to reduce brush, encourage the growth of pasturage, and provide meadowlands for wildlife. Burning the land also contributed to the decomposition of forest litter and the recycling of nutrients through an ecosystem. The ecology of California, in particular, has largely been determined by fire. Indeed, much of the Golden State's plant life evolved in response to fire, incorporating the periodic burnings into their life cycles. Fire was set to freshwater marshes, thereby fostering the growth of forage for livestock, providing more space for waterfowl nesting, and increasing overall species diversity. In this sense, many coastal California environments were human artifacts, the product of burning, and would have reverted to woody vegetation had this technique been abandoned. This long-standing practice, however, came to a halt in 1910 when the US Forest Service embarked on a nationwide policy of forest fire suppression and redefined fire setting as a federal crime, following the conflagrations that raged across the West Coast region, sending smoke as far east as the East Coast states. Nature, however, knows not these restrictions. January 7th marked a black day for the state of California when a series of conflagrations erupted across the Los Angeles area starting in Pacific Palisades in the Santa Monica Mountains then moving on by strong winds to the Eaton Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains and other adjacent neighborhoods. Things did not stop there. Two weeks later, the Hughes Fire broke out in the northern part of the LA County. Firefighters had to wrestle with the fires for three weeks before they could bring them under control on January 31. The fires left behind serious damage. According to the initial estimates of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the blazes scorched a total of 50,293 acres and wiped out more than 17,000 structures, ending the life of at least 29 people and displacing vast numbers of others to the streets. Financially, the LA Fires are the costliest in the nation's history, expected to reach an amount in excess of $50 billion. Were Californians taken aback by the LA Fires per se? The answer is categorically negative. The Golden State has had a long history with blazes as it is geographically characterized by a volatile physical environment prone to drought and blistering winds, thus exposing it to increased risks for fire eruption. In the 1980s alone, 10,000 wildfires struck the Golden State, and since 2000, the state has been subject to a series of annual conflagrations of varying degrees, establishing themselves as part of a trend toward larger and more damaging fires. The calamities are partly natural, but the magnitude of their development has been, in fact, the result of a reckless policy of suburban sprawl dating back to the post-WWII period. Eager for more fresh land, house developers entertained the idea of building on hillsides. The foothills of the San Gabriels, it came to be known, are covered with chaparral, a type of scrubland extremely prone to fire. When developers descended on the foothills of Los Angeles, they were building in the midst of one of North America's most flammable environments. More important, the proliferation of fire-prone wooden roofs in the postwar period boosted that hazard even further. In a sense, while Californian suburbanites are aware of the inevitability of fire-breaking in most parts of the state, they have nonetheless chosen to put much faith in the capabilities of their state and federal governments to bail them out when self-inflicted calamity hit. What those Californians have failed to consider, however, is that nature can strike back at any moment in ways beyond humans' imagination and calculations. Indeed, what horrified Californians—and the whole world—more than anything else was the scale of the damage wrought by such wildfires, especially the latest ones.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Chuck Lorre Shares Heartfelt On-Air Tribute to L.A. Firefighters Who Saved His Home: 'You Spared Me Incredible Heartache'
Chuck Lorre is offering his thanks to first responders. At the end of his CBS comedy Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage on Jan. 30, the vanity card written by the producer offered a message to the Los Angeles firefighters. After flames blazed across the city, endangering his own home, Lorre revealed it was saved. 'To the crew of the LAFD Fire Truck 14,' Lorre wrote. 'You saved my home. You made a snap decision to stop a rampaging fire that had already destroyed my neighbor's house. In doing so, you spared me incredible heartache. There are no words that can adequately express my gratitude.' 'Maybe I can buy all you guys a nice dinner and you can watch a grown man cry tears of joy over his chicken parm,' he continued. 'Let me know. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Chuck Lorre.' Related: Celebrities Who Have Lost Homes in the Los Angeles Fires, and What They've Said While Lorre's house was spared, many can't say the same. After the fires first sparked in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods of L.A. on Jan. 7, nearly 30 deaths were reported and thousands of structures were lost. Several celebrities, along with over 80,000 displaced residents, were impacted by the fires occurring in L.A. in January. Cameron Mathison, Leighton Meester and Adam Brody, Anna Faris, Ricki Lake, Cary Elwes and Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag all confirmed that their homes were destroyed. Others, like Lorre, Tara Lipinski, Chrissy Teigen, and Britney Spears, were forced to evacuate as the flames rapidly spread. Related: L.A. Fires Live: Hughes Fire and Sepulveda Fire Erupt as Eaton and Palisades Containment Grows Pratt later filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles and the Department of Water and Power for the loss of their home. According to the documents, filed in California's Superior Court in Los Angeles County on Tuesday, Jan. 21, Pratt and Montag argue that the devastating fire was "an inescapable and unavoidable consequence" due to how the city and LADWP allegedly managed water supply in the area. 'The Palisades Fire was an inescapable and unavoidable consequence of the egregious failure of the water supply system servicing areas in and around Pacific Palisades, including having an empty water reservoir. This failure was a substantial factor in causing my clients and others to suffer enormous losses,' stated Peter McNulty of the McNulty Law Firm and the attorney for the Pratts. "We intend to hold the City of Los Angeles accountable.' PEOPLE reached out to attorneys for LADWP and the city of Los Angeles for comment, but did not receive a response. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Click here to learn more about how to help the victims of the L.A. fires. Read the original article on People
USA Today
30-01-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Meryl Streep escaped LA fires by cutting 'car-sized hole' in fence, nephew says
Meryl Streep escaped LA fires by cutting 'car-sized hole' in fence, nephew says Show Caption Hide Caption Meryl Streep escaped LA fires by cutting hole in fence Meryl Streep reportedly went to great lengths to evacuate during the Los Angeles wildfires. unbranded - Entertainment Meryl Streep had to go to extreme lengths to escape the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. Abe Streep, Meryl Streep's nephew, revealed in a larger feature for New York magazine that the 75-year-old actress had a hard time fleeing home after a tree had fallen across her driveway, blocking her sole exit. The writer says his aunt had to borrow wire cutters from one neighbor to cut a "car-size hole" in another neighbor's fence and drive across their yard to evacuate. The New Mexico-based writer's story also chronicled how the LA fires have devastated other residents, including longtime Angelenos, first responders and other working creatives and stars, including Meryl Streep's "Only Murders in the Building" co-star and Palisades resident Martin Short. Abe Streep also revealed actor Haley Joel Osment, who lives near Eaton Canyon, lost "500 records and a piano his parents had given him when he turned 18" and how Altadena photographer and director Joseph Kindred lost unseen footage of the late Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle. The Eaton, Palisades and Hughes fires are all closing in on 100% containment as of Thursday afternoon, according to Cal Fire. The Eaton and Palisades fires ignited nearly four weeks ago during a historic wind event that has seen the two fires kill at least 28 people, burn nearly 37,500 acres and destroy thousands of homes and businesses. The Hughes Fire near Santa Clarita began last week and has burned nearly 10,500 acres, though Cal Fire has not reported any structures damaged from the blaze as of Sunday morning. Early estimates of the financial impact of the fires suggest potential damages could reach around $10 billion. Some of music's biggest names are stepping in to help, joining the FireAid benefit concert lineup in a pair of side-by-side events slated for Thursday. FireAid benefit concert uses star-studded lineup to help LA: How to watch Contributions made to FireAid at will be distributed under the advisement of the Annenberg Foundation for both short-term relief efforts and long-term initiatives to prevent future fire disasters. Contributing: James Powel, Melissa Ruggieri and Anna Kaufman
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Kristen's Classroom: From fire to flood
AUSTIN (KXAN) – Southern California has been at the forefront of the news recently due to devastating and destructive wildfires. With thousands of homes destroyed, more than 25 people dead, and early damage estimates in the billions, it's hard to imagine the situation getting worse. But unfortunately, it can. Wildfires leave behind burn scars, or areas of land stripped of any structures, vegetation, and topsoil. Unfortunately, this now barren land can leave an area susceptible to flooding in the event of heavy rain as there is no vegetation to help absorb the water and hold the ground in place. The result? Debris flows and mudslides. Defined by the National Weather Service, a debris flow is a 'fast-moving, deadly landslide, [comprised of] a powerful mixture of mud, rocks, boulders, entire trees, and sometimes, homes or vehicles.' Debris flows can often occur during heavy rain events in a burn scar area. It's the high rainfall intensity that can trigger these flows, even if the overall rainfall total is low. Unfortunately, debris flows are fast and unpredictable. There is no way to tell exactly when and where a debris flow will occur. A mud flow is similar to a debris flow in that it is a large volume of water and soil carried downslope, typically in canyons and ravines. But the size of the sediment is usually what differentiates a mud flow from a debris flow – a mud flow typically containing smaller sized rocks (sand grains or smaller) and a debris flow characterized by larger sized sediment (stones and boulders). Rockfalls feature rocks and stones falling from a steep slope or cliff. A more umbrella term would be a landslide, or the movement of rock, soil, sand, vegetation, etc. down a slope. A powerful upper-level low that moved over the southern region of the state Monday will brought flooding, debris flows, and mudslides in parts of the burn scars of the recent Palisades, Eaton, and Hughes Fire. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
