One year ago today tragic wildfires burned in Los Angeles County, California. Over 37,000 acres burned and thirty-one people died. Scores of residences, businesses, and schools were destroyed. Rebuilding in the aftermath of these fires is still going on. I am sharing three videos of these fires one year later.
Direct link to January 6, 2026 video from ABC10 on YouTube
Direct link to January 6, 2026 video from ABC News on YouTube
As I write this on August 8th at 11:45 AM, the Gifford Wildfire has burned 99,232 acres in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties in California. The fire is at 15 percent containment. Evacuations are in place and there are some road closures in the fire area. The fire was first reported on August 1st. See this Inciweb report on the Gifford Wildfire (updated at least daily while fire is active, you can find photographs and videos on Inciweb. High temperatures, low humidity and high winds are challenging the firefighters. There is aerial support.
Please take a couple of minutes to watch this August 7th video from KSBY on YouTube from a Santa Barbara County official on the Gifford Fire. I am sorry that I am uable to embed this video here to share with you, but I liked this brief update.
In the map below you can see the progression of this wildfire.
Direct link to July 8th evening report from KGET News
This post updates the post I made on July 4th on the Madre Wildfire that is still burning in the County of San Luis Obispo that is a couple hours north of Los Angeles. According to the latest update from the Madre Fire Inciweb site (11:23 PM PST on July 8th) containment was at 55 percent, up from 35 containment reported in the video I shared. Acreage burned is now at 80,610 acres, a very marginal increase from 80,603 acres reported in the video. Acreage burned increased significantly from acreage burned on July 4th of 52,920 acres.
Cal Fire has a page devoted to the Madre Fire that may be found here. As I write in their early morning update for July 9th (5:30 AM PST) they are reporting 62 percent containment and acreage burned of 80,610 acres and some evacuation orders are still in effect.
Links to my other articles on the Madre Fire: July 4th and July 16th
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| Obtained at 6:50 PM on July 4th from https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2025/7/2/madre-fire |
Direct link to video from News Channel 3-12 on YouTube
I learned about the Madre Fire through my newsfeed on July 3rd. The Madre Fire, first reported on the afternoon of July 2nd, is currently burning near the Los Padres National Forest in San Luis Obispo County in California has burned 52,592 acres and is at 10 percent containment as of the evening of July 3rd. It is the largest wildfire to date in California. Evacuation orders as well as evacuation warnings are in place. Road closures are in place. Helicopters are working the fire to aid wildland firefighters on the ground. For more information on the Madre wildfire see this inciweb site. Cal Fire has a webpage devoted to the Madre Fire that may be found here.
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| Obtained at 9 AM EDT from Cal Fire at https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2025/7/2/madre-fire |
I follow the NSW Rural Fire Service (Australia) on Facebook. I knew that the New South Wales Rural Fire Service was sending their 737 large air tanker to California for the summer wildfire season where she will help other airtankers and helicopters in California flying wildfires in support of the ground crews. I believe that they loan California an airtanker most every year for our summer (their winter). I am very appreciative of the generosity of the NSW Rural Fire Service in helping my friends in California fight wildfires. The 737 air tanker has already completed five missions and the number of missions flown will multiply significantly as the summer wildfire season progresses.
Direct link to video from US Military Action on YouTube
When there are not enough USDA Forest Service contracted airtankers to go around, there are eight Modular Aircraft Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) that are used by eight C-130 aircraft at three National Guard Unit and one US Air Force Reserve Unit, each military unit has two C-130s that can be equipped with MAFFS:
Among the aircraft used in aerial wildland firefighting in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere are the Canadair Aerial Firefighters, amphibious purpose built aircraft for wildland firefighting. De Havilland Canada holds the type certificate for these aircraft, The Canadair Aerial Firefighter aircraft are often referred to as Super Scoopers for their ability to quickly scoop water from various water bodies and return to the fire. There will often by a suitable water body for scooping in close proximity to a wildfire so Super Scoopers can make many drops in a short time period.
Quebec Canada has an arrangement to send two of their Super Scoopers to California each year. To the best of my knowledge these two Super Scoopers worked the January 2025 wildfires including but not limited to the Palisades and the Eaton Fires , in addition, at least two other Super Scoopers from Canada went to southern California to assist fighting these fires, see this article from Skies Magazine for more information . I do know that Bridger Aerospace out of Belgrade, Montana sent two of their Super Scoopers to southern California in mid January to help, see this article from Globe Newswire .
One of the Super Scoopers was struck by a drone, the person who flew the drone has been charged with unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft, according to an article on Fire Aviation for information about these charges.
Bridger Aerospace talked to CNN a couple of weeks ago about their Super Scoopers and took them on a tour of one of their Super Scoopers. The report on the Super Scoopers is at the beginning of the video, accounting for the first three minutes. The rest of the video is a report by Anderson Cooper on the progress that was then made on the Palisades Fire on or about January 16th. The Palisades fire was declared 100 5 contained on January 31st
Direct link to Jan 25th video from The Union Tribune on YouTube
Direct link to Jan14th video from The Sun (UK) on YouTube
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| Current wildfires in Southern CA, obtained from Cal Fire Incidents Page on Jan 29th at 3 PM EST |
The image of the map from Cal Fire that I shared above is a little small of necessity so I could show the location of the four fires that I will update below. This information was obtained from the Cal Fire Incidents Page and is current at the time I post this article. Recent rainfall in southern California has no doubt aided the firefighters in fighting these fires.
Direct link to January 26th video from KCAL News on YouTube
I know from following some media outlets as well as checking the National Weather Service Forecast Office Los Angeles that there was light to moderate rainfall over Los Angeles County including the areas burned by the recent wildfires for the last 48 hours.. I know enough to know that this rainfall has helped firefighters as the work to contain wildfires in and around Los Angeles County. If you go this Facebook post from the NWS Forecast Office in Los Angeles (close the page asking you to log on to Facebook to see the post) where I hope you will see a link for their latest rainfall summary. I am not intimately familiar with the geography of this area but I hope that you will see that light to moderate rainfall was fairly widespread. I also know enough to know that with rainfall comes the risk of flooding and in areas burned by wildfires, risks of debris flows that can further impact any structures still standing as well as impacting roads and bridges.
I saw a nice article earlier this morning from the New York Times by Tim Balk published on January 26th and updated on January 27th the recent rain over the fire areas and the risk of mudslides, you may go here, please note that I can give you 10 days of free access ending on or about February 6th.
Some of you might be interested in reading more about debris flows, shared by the NWS Forecast Office in Los Angeles has some good information from the USGS, For example, on the link titled "what is a debris flow you will find this useful definition from the USGS on what a debris flow including the increased risk to areas burned by wildfires.
Debris flows are fast-moving landslides that are particularly dangerous to life and property because they move quickly, destroy objects in their paths, and often strike without warning. They occur in a wide variety of environments throughout the world, including all 50 states and U.S. Territories. Debris flows generally occur during periods of intense rainfall or rapid snowmelt and usually start on hillsides or mountains. Debris flows can travel at speeds up to and exceeding 35 mph and can carry large items such as boulders, trees, and cars. If a debris flows enters a steep stream channel, they can travel for several miles, impacting areas unaware of the hazard. Areas recently burned by a forest fire are especially susceptible to debris flows, including the areas downslope and outside of the burned area. Debris flows are a type of landslide and are sometimes referred to as mudslides, mudflows, lahars, or debris avalanche.
I close with the latest information from the Cal Fire Incidents page on wildfires currently burning in Los Angeles, note this page is updated frequently so you may see information for different fires on that page. The fire information that I post below is current as of January 27th at 12:30 PM EST
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| obtained on Jan 27th at 12:30 PM EST from the Cal Fire Incidents page |
Direct link to January 23 video from NBC 7 San Diego on YouTube
Direct link to January 24th video from Fox 5 San Diego on YouTube
I have been thinking on the Santa Ana Winds that affected San Diego County yesterday with Red Flag Warnings continuing into this morning (January 24th) in portions of San Diego County and adjoining areas. Thanks to my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page who shared the videos about the wildfire situation in San Diego County that I embedded above. The first video refers to a few smaller wildfires in San Diego County, I could only find information for one fire, the Gilman Fire on Cal Fire. In the second video, you will learn more about the Border2 Fire which I read about online yesterday, I am glad to have watched this video. Regarding the two San Diego County wildfires that I referred to in my January 23rd post the Lilac fire is 100% contained at 85 acres and the ncfr3-4 fire is not a Cal Fire Incident and there is no further information on this 80 acre fire at the time I write this post.
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| Obtained on Jan 24m 2025 at 12 PM EST from https://www.weather.gov/sgx/ |
...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST TODAY FOR THE MOUNTAINS, SAN DIEGO VALLEYS, INLAND EMPIRE, INLAND ORANG COUNTY, AND THE SAN GORGONIO PASS FOR GUSTY SANTA ANA WINDS AND VERY LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...
...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST THIS MORNING FOR THE MOUNTAINS, SAN DIEGO VALLEYS, INLAND EMPIRE INLAND ORANGE COUNTY, AND THE SAN GORGONIO PASS FOR STRONG GUST WINDS AND VERY LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...
* WINDS...East 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 40 mph. Isolated gusts to 40 to 50 mph through 6 AM.
* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 2 percent.
* IMPACTS...If fire ignition occurs, conditions are favorableor rapid fire spread and extreme fire behavior.
* LOCATION...San Bernardino and Riverside County Valleys -TheInland Empire, San Diego County Inland Valleys, San Bernardino County Mountains-Including The Mountain Top And Front Country Ranger Districts Of The San Bernardino National Forest, Riverside County Mountains-Including The San Jacinto Ranger District Of The San Bernardino National Forest, Santa Ana Mountains-Including The Trabuco Ranger District of the Cleveland National Forest, San Diego County Mountains-Including the Palomar and Descanso Ranger Districts of the Cleveland National Forest, San Gorgonio Pass near Banning and Orange County Inland Areas.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now....or will shortly. A combination of strong winds...low relative humidity...and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.
&&
$$
http://www.weather.gov/sandiego
Current wildfire statistics from the Cal Fire Incidents page at 6:45 AM EST on January 23rd
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| Obtained on January 23rd at 7:15 AM from the National Weather Service in San Diego |
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| Obtained on January 17th at 10:30 from the Cal Fire Incidents Page |
I am always saddened by the loss of life from any wildfire. For the last few days, I have seen the figure that there are 24 fatalities attributed to the wildfires currently burning in LA County and environs.. My thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those who have perished in the Palisades and Eaton fires. I went to the individual incident page for each of the three wildfires that I have listed below to get a breakdown of the fatalities attributed to each fire.
I start with embedding a January 14th video from NBC News where reporter Ellison Barber rode along on a Cal Fire helicopter to get an aerial view of some of the wildfires currently burning in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties and a discussion with Operations Section Chief Christian Litz.
Direct link to video from NBC News on YouTube
In my wonderings in preparation for this post, I came across a nice article on USA Today that I hope is freely available to all (I am not a subscriber to USA Today). This January 14th USA Today article discusses the different aerial assets that are currently being used to fight the wildfires in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. The article lists these aerial assets with a drawing and specifications, it is an easy read. In particular the article refers to the :
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| Obtained on January 15th at 11 AM EST from https://www.weather.gov/lox/ |
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| obtained from the Cal Fire Incidents Page at 11:10 AM on January 15th |
Direct link to video from NBCLA on YouTube
When I posted yesterday, January 13th about the wildfire situation in Los Angeles County, I included a graphic warning of Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS) Red Flag Warnings from the National Weather Service in Los Angeles from 4 AM Tuesday January 14th through Noon on Wednesday January 15th. The NWS in Los Angeles updated their PDS Red Flag Warning yesterday after I posted on January 13th. See the graphic below.
I wanted to give you more information about how the NWS defines a Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS) as relates to Red Flag Warnings. The video I shared is good, they explain about Santa Ana Winds and then discuss what a PDS is.
Direct link to January 13th video from CBS News on YouTube
I want to update my January 10th post on the wildfires that are currently burning in and around Los Angeles County. As you can see from the video report that I shared, at least 24 people have died and thousands of structures are damaged or destroyed. High winds will again be present over the fire area, but not as high as last week.
I took a screen shot of the latest map on the CAL Fire Incidents Page using my Firefox browser.
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| Image taken at 11:30 AM on January 13th from the CAL Fire Incidents Page |
At the time I write this update, the status of the five wildfires that I reported on in my January 10th post are:
Note: For some unknown reason, I had a problem accessing the map on the CAL Fire Incidents page using Safari and Chrome on my Mac desktop perhaps because of the way the two browsers are configured. I was able to access the page using safari and chrome on my devices and a friend told me they could access this page on both browsers on their Mac laptop.
Direct link to video from Inside Edition (January 9th) on YouTube
Direct link to video from KCAL (January 9th) on YouTube
Direct link to video from KCAL (January 9th) on YouTube
I am heartbroken about the destruction caused by various wind-driven wildfires in Los Angeles County and vicinity. Stories about these wildfires are in all the digital newspapers I subscribe to and then some. So I am sure that most of you know about the wildfires. I will let you watch these three short videos that I have embedded above. One is sharing about calling in the National Guard, a second is reporting on some 1,000 homes that have been destroyed in the Pacific Palisades and vicinity, and the third is reporting on evacuations being lifted. These videos are only a small look at what local media in Los Angeles have been reporting. Then there are other articles in various newspapers, chances are if you subscribe to a newspaper you are reading about these fires, then there will be articles in your newsfeed for those of you who have a newsfeed. Evacuations orders are still in place and many structures have been destroyed.
I know of at least five wildfires of various sizes that are burning in Los Angeles County and environs, information and links are obtained from the CAL FIRE incident page you can go there to look at more maps.
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| Image taken on January 10th, 2025 at 1:09 PM EST from the CAL FIRE incident page |
Direct link to video from KCAL News (January 8th, about 6 AM PST) on YouTube
I follow Wildfire Today and it's sister site Fire Aviation, both sites are reporting on the Palisades Wildfire, Wildfire Today's most recent post (Jan 7th) may be found here and Fire Aviation posted later in the evening on Jan 7th. This is a fast moving fire fueled by extreme winds. The winds are hampering aerial operations which according to this report from CBS News were shut down January 7th at 8PM, the report includes a map of the fire area and reports on the Hurst and the Eaton Fires. Evacuations due all three fires are in place, residences have been destroyed, and there are road closures in the area. Schools have also been closed.
The New York Times reported on these fires this morning, the article is gifted for 10 days. The Washington Post is also reporting on these fires in an article posted today (gifted to you for 10 days).
Life threatening winds occurred Tuesday, Jan 7th and Wednesday morning January 8th for the Los Angeles area.
