January 2025 Southern California wildfires facts for kids
Quick facts for kids January 2025 Southern California wildfires |
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GOES-18 satellite image of the Palisades, Lidia, and Eaton fires, January 7, 21:51 UTC
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| Location | Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties, California |
| Statistics | |
| Date(s) | January 7, 2025 – present |
| Burned area | Roughly 57,174 acres (23,137 ha; 89 sq mi; 231 km2) |
| Cause | Under investigation, exacerbated by severe Santa Ana winds and drought conditions |
| Buildings destroyed | 17,711+ destroyed or damaged |
| Deaths | 28+ total (27+ direct, 1 indirect) |
| Non-fatal injuries | 22+ |
| Missing people | 31+ |
| Evacuated | 205,000 |
Since January 7, 2025, a series of destructive wildfires have affected the Los Angeles metropolitan area and surrounding regions. As of January 25, 2025[update], five fires remain active, the Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Hughes Fire, Border 2 Fire and Laguna Fire (Ventura County).
The fires have been exacerbated by drought conditions, low humidity, a build-up of vegetation the previous winter, and hurricane-force Santa Ana winds, which in some places have reached 100 miles per hour (160 km/h; 45 m/s). As of January 25, 2025[update], the wildfires have killed at least 28 people, forced more than 200,000 to evacuate, and destroyed or damaged more than 16,000 structures.
Most of the damage has been done by the two largest fires: the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades and the Eaton Fire in Altadena. They are likely the third and second most destructive fires in California's history, respectively.
See also
In Spanish: Incendios forestales de California de 2025 para niños
