Anniversary of the LA Fires

Zeke, Denny O’Neil, and Tim Chavez had a phone call today week to catch up on the LA Fires. The three of us, along with Harrison Raine, toured the fire areas and Santa Monica Mountains back in May 2025, and made a docu-series about it called ‘DANGER IN PLAIN SIGHT’. The three recounted their journey … Read more

The Impossibility of Urban Wildfire Mitigation

When homes are densely packed in alignment with the direction of strong fire-season winds, it is nearly almost impossible to cut enough brush to make the homes defensible. Fire burns from house to house, no longer a ‘brush fire’, rather it is referred to as an ‘urban conflagration’ or simply a ‘conflagration’. Wind-driven brush fires … Read more

LA County Fires – Morning Briefing – 1/9/2025

UPDATE 2pm, 1/9/2025 The Palisades Fire is most active on the northeast corner, in the Mandeville Canyon area. Airtankers are currently running laps on a major ridge to the east of the fire to box it in from pushing farther toward Crestwood Hills, The Getty Museum, and the 405 corridor.   Good morning! Here is … Read more

January 2025 Southern California Fires – Day 2

Santa Ana Winds Drive Major Wildfire Growth in Southern California 1/8/2025 – 8am. Two large fires started in Southern California during a strong Santa Ana windstorm on Tuesday, January 7. They are the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire. They had burned about 30,000 acres, combined, by Wednesday morning. In this morning’s report (below) I … Read more