Everything we know about how the LA fires really started, explained

Much of Los Angeles is still on fire. At least ten people have died, more than 10,000 buildings have burned down, and 180,000 people were told to leave their homes. The houses of several celebrities have burned down. Here’s everything we know so far about what actually started all these LA fires.

As of Friday 10th January, there are large fires in the Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, Lidia and Kenneth areas of Los Angeles. Areas were evacuated because of fires in the Sunset, Woodley and Olivias areas, but these fires have thankfully now been contained.

Here’s an easy-to-read explanation of all the causes of why the LA fires started, and how they got so bad.

The smoke over Los Angeles on 7th January
(Image via SWNS)

A man with a flamethrower has been arrested near the Kenneth Fire

On Thursday, a new blaze called the Kenneth Fire broke out in Woodland Hills. The fire expanded to 1,000 acres in only a few hours. People who live in Woodland Hills reportedly spotted a man with a flamethrower and a propane tank. Residents reportedly used rope and zip ties to hold him down until the police arrived.

The man has been arrested, but we don’t know whether the police think he could have started the fire. A Los Angeles police officer said, “We cannot confirm any connection to any fire at this time.”

Nobody else has been accused of starting any of the LA fires.

Videos have gone viral of people attempting to start smaller fires

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There are plenty of videos circulating on TikTok and on X of people trying to start small fires. However, the LA fire department has stressed they don’t know exactly what caused all the fires yet. The Californian fire chief David Acuna told the BBC that they didn’t have “any conclusive evidence” that the major fires were deliberately started by people. The fire department aims to investigate the causes of the fires properly once the flames are under control.

There’s been barely any rain in California for months

Firefighters hose down buildings
(Image via SWNS)

Los Angeles only got 0.4cm of rain between October 2024 and now. This had made the area extremely try and vulnerable to fires.

The fires have spread so quickly because of the wind

California sometimes gets Santa Ana winds – strong gusts of wind which gather around the west of America, then blow towards the coast. Because these winds gather in really dry areas around the Great Basin, like Nevada, Utah and Idaho, they don’t have much moisture in. The very dry winds make fire burn more easily.

The strong winds in Los Angeles at the moment are making the fires spread so quickly.

More Santa Ana winds are forecast to reach Los Angeles over the weekend, which might make the wildfires worse.

A photo of the fire from a plane
(Image via SWNS)

The climate crisis has caused California to be much more vulnerable to fires than it used to be

Prepare for some science. There’s been a lot of extreme weather in California because of climate change. California has experienced “whiplash” weather over the last few years. There was a drought in the west of the USA for two decades. Then in 2022 and 2023, there was much more rain than usual. 2024 had much less rain than is normal.

So now there is suddenly a lot more vegetation in the area surrounding Los Angeles than there used to be, and these plants got extremely dry in 2024. There’s simply a lot more stuff for the fires to burn.

Featured images via SWNS.