On 6 January 2025, at 11:15 am, a man named David Morrow was sitting on the balcony of his apartment enjoying the view of the Pacific Ocean. It was a normal day like always. Then, about 5 miles away from his apartment, he saw a fire with raging sparks on the hills of Pacific Palisades.

Within just an hour, the fire grew so much that the smoke completely hid the mountain. If seen in satellite view, this fire was first reported on the hills of Palisades, but after a few hours it spread to the areas of Eaton Hurst, Kenneth Getty, Scurry Ball and San Fernando. At the time when this fire broke out, winds of 100 kmph were blowing here, whose direction was from inland to the ocean.

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Now the question arises here that if the fire first started in Palisades, which is very close to the ocean, then how did the fire spread from there in the opposite direction of the wind to a distance of 30 to 40 km?

Destruction Due to fire

This fire has devastated an area of ​​38000 acres or 150 sq km. More than 12000 buildings and houses have been destroyed and 1 lakh 80000 people have left their homes. This is the most destructive fire in the history of Los Angeles which could not be extinguished completely even during the writing of this article.

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Measures Taken

Every possible effort to extinguish the fire seems to be failing. Water bombers are throwing 45000 liters of water at a time which seems like a few drops in front of this fire. Special chemicals are also being thrown with the help of water bombers, but all the efforts seem to be going in vain in front of nature.

In California, there was already a shortage of water. Due to which, fire hydrants were often lying empty. Due to spreading in seven different areas, fire fighters and their equipment also got divided and when winds of 70 to 100 kmph hit the fire, the fire started flaring up even more.

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History: How many times wildfires have attacked California before this

If we look at the data of the last 25 years, then California has been a hot spot for wildfires. In the year 2003, Cedar fire attacked 273000 acres in San Diego county. The fire which started on 25th October died down on 4th November 2003.

In 2017, Tubbs fire burnt 36000 acres and this also started again in the month of October. In 2017, Thomas fire reduced 280000 acres to ashes.

Started in December and ended in January. On November 8, 2018, the Camp Fire burned 5 lakh acres and ended after 17 days on November 25. Similarly, in 2020, the Glass Fire attacked 67000 acres and it also started in September and ended after a full month in October.

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Why in Winter

When we look at the dates of all these wildfires, one thing is very common in them – winters, that is, these wildfires have occurred only in the winter months and the Los Angeles wildfire has also occurred in peak winters. So what is the reason that most of the wildfires in the history of California have occurred only in winters?

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Santa Ana Winds

The answer to this question is hidden in a phenomenon called Santa Ana winds. Yes, Santa Ana winds are hot and dry winds that blow in Southern California and Baja California especially during autumn and winter. If we look at the earth, there is only desert far and wide in the east of California, which is also called Mahavi Desert or Great Basin. The heat of the sun heats up the desert, due to which the air pressure here starts increasing.

On the other hand, if we talk about the ocean, the air here is cold and the pressure is low. We had read in the sixth grade that the air is formed by high pressure. Wind travels towards low pressure. The greater the difference in pressure, the faster it will travel.

And something similar happens here as well. Santa Ana winds move rapidly from South East California towards the ocean. These dry and hot winds suck the moisture wherever they pass, due to which the entire region becomes dry in this season. Bushes and trees become completely dry, which become capable of catching fire very easily.

Santa Ana winds turn the entire forest into fuel for wildfires. If a fire breaks out by mistake, the strong winds intensify the fire even more. The burning coal spreads rapidly and the wildfire goes out of control in the blink of an eye.

Now what should happen is that the wildfire should spread in the same direction in which the wind is blowing, but in the case of Los Angeles, the exact opposite was seen. First the fire was seen near Palisades which is close to the ocean and later it spread to the inland areas.

Mountain Wave Rotor

To understand the real reason behind this, we have to understand an interesting phenomenon called mountain wave rotor. The side of the mountain on which the wind hits directly is called the windward side and the other side of the mountain where the wind has to go is called the leeward side.

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What happens is that when the windward side stops the wind, during the same time a vortex effect is created on the leeward side and in this vortex the wind keeps rotating in a circular manner i.e. the direction of the wind above the mountain is in one direction and below the mountain the direction of the wind moves in the other direction.

In the case of Los Angeles also this phenomenon has a big role. Palisades is the leeward side where the fire was first reported and here due to the mountain wave rotor the wind from the top of the mountain moves downwards. It was generated in the opposite direction which became the biggest reason for the fire to spread to inland areas.

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Fire Tornado

Once a wildfire grows too much, it gives rise to many strange phenomena. Some such phenomena are very difficult to predict.

One of these is the fire tornado. It is a rare and dangerous phenomenon that is formed during intense wildfires. It is like a tornado but with only fire and heat inside it. The fire heats up the air immediately and pulls it upwards.

Due to the heat, the hot air rises very fast and cold air comes from below to fill that space. This up draft creates a rotational motion which pulls the surrounding dry bushes into the fire tornado and makes the vortex even more terrifying.

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Now this fire tornado dominates the wind blowing in the area and spreads its wings. It starts generating its own wind inside whose direction is very difficult to guess but there are high chances that it will move along the mountain.

Climate Change

Wildfire will increase upwards Wildfire is a reality and due to climate change it is monitored with more frequency in the coming years.

Nowadays, with the help of artificial intelligence, the direction of fire spread is also predicted and then all this information is sent to the firefighters. From the Pego fire of 1871 to today's Los Angeles wildfire, nature is giving us indications that controlling fire is still almost impossible.

But if we try to understand nature and instead of fighting climate change, try to live according to it, then perhaps the series of wildfires can be stopped again.

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Why Should Teens Care About This?

You might think, “I don't own a house; why should I care?" Here is why:

1. Wildfire Smoke Affects Your Health

Breathing in wildfire smoke can cause serious health issues. You can get respiratory diseases, your immune system can become weak due to your lungs failing during a high-explosion fire, and you might suffer from Breathing difficulties.

2. School and Activities Can Be Disrupted

Wildfires may cause school closures, cancelation of sports, delay in events, and disturb your study routine.

3. Nature and Wildlife Are Destroyed

Wildfires destroy acres of land. It may result in deforestation, species extinction, balanced ecosystem destruction, and loss of biodiversity. Homelands were damaged causing too many serious crises.

4. You Can Be Part of the Solution

Mostly wildfires are caused due to human activities. To lessen the chance of wildfire proper awareness is needed. Being a citizen it's your responsibility to save the world through public awareness, newspapers, radio, television, and Social media posts.

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