‘Bigger, badder, nastier’: the LA fires are a warning for all Australians

In an area climate scientists had warned was a dangerous fire belt, thousands of timber houses lay waiting. Highly combustible citrus trees had roots spread between backyards, and the eucalyptus trees covering the Los Angeles hillsides were like oil to a hot flame.

At the beginning of January 2025, LA was in the middle of the city’s wet season. Except it hadn’t rained in months. The long drought had dried up vegetation normally able to survive in this harsh environment.

These conditions were not unprecedented for California. But when combined with the hurricane force Santa Ana winds, they set ablaze the most destructive fires in LA’s history.   

Dr Liz Hanna is an Honorary Associate Professor from the Fenner School Environment and Society at the Australian National University. She describes the environmental conditions that led to the fires as a “recipe for disaster.”

“California– much like Australia – has a lot of eucalyptus trees. Their famed eucalyptus oil is a volatile vapour with a low flash point, meaning it quickly bursts into flame, and generates explosive fires of extreme heat.

“This serves as a survival advantage for the eucalypts, which quickly regenerate after a fire while the competitive foliage gets wiped out.

@dailytelegraph

Residents north of Los Angeles are under evacuation orders after a new wildfire, which one expert say could “go nuclear”, swept the hills following the devastating infernos that decimated parts of the city. The Hughes fire, burning near Castaic Lake north of Santa Clarita, grew to more than 3,400 acres in a couple of hours, with residents of several areas told to flee. Dozens of fire trucks were lined up at the entrance to the empty Magic Mountain amusement park in Valencia, with large plumes of smoke rising from the hills to the north and east, The New York Times reports. #firenado #hughes #castaiclake #santaclarita #losangeles #lafires #la #wildfires #california

♬ original sound – The Daily Telegraph

“Another issue was the hurricane-force winds, coupled with the smoke and fire so high that it was too unsafe for the emergency services planes to fly. The fire thus became unstoppable.”

Starting in Runyon Canyon, the Sunset fire moved toward Hollywood Boulevard and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, taking more than 10,000 homes and 30 lives along with revered landmarks synonymous with the city. It’s devastating effects are a stark warning that our urban areas are no longer safe.

“Because of climate change, fires are now bigger, badder and nastier,” Hanna says.

“Even if our firefighting regime was operating perfectly without glitches – and no human-operated system is always perfect – even then, it’s been geared towards the fires and the systems that we’ve had in the past.

“It’s a new fire regime now, far beyond what our standard planning is.”

For Australians watching on from the other side of the world, the LA fires raised the question of whether major cities such as Melbourne and Sydney could also be affected by the right wind at the wrong time.

“People tend to think that bushfires are a country thing, yet the LA fires prove that isn’t the case,” Hanna says.

@mr.2much4

How Wild fire Started #losangeles #California #America#wildfire

♬ original sound – Mr.2much

“There is this mentality of ‘I will get a fire plan; I must do it’ and yet, many people don’t get around to it.

“Australians need to recognise that you are not safe just because you’re living in an urban area. It’s not just those whose houses are back on Black Mountain or Red Hill that need to be prepared.

 “This is something all Australians need to recognise and factor into their lives.”

It isn’t just our attitudes that need addressing. Our resourcing and infrastructure also need improvement if we are to be prepared for a fire of similar scale and size to hit our urban environments.

“You’ve got to build in sufficient redundancy, which means you need facilities, equipment, firefighting gear and emergency services sitting around so that when they’re needed, they’re not busy doing something else,” Hanna says.

“We need to be able to readily ramp up to surge capacity – beyond what we’ve previously seen, or we’ll always be playing catch up,” she adds. “That requires a discussion about how much society is willing to pay to cover those contingencies.”

Hanna says we need to be building systems where we can respond to what is called ‘surge demand’.

“We know that fire seasons are extending and intensifying. We must prepare this and factor in what we are going to do during those monster fires when everybody’s busy. How do we find that extra backup support?  That’s our fundamental task.”

Alongside the change needed at a government and policy-making level, Australians should feel empowered to safeguard themselves and their properties against the very real danger of future fires.

@10newsfirst

It’s bushfire season in Australia, which means every household should prepare an emergency survival plan. Is your family ready? Here’s what you need to consider. 🎤: Gabi Warner #10newsfirst #australia #bushfire #bushfireseason #blacksummer #blacksummerbushfires #blacksaturday #ashwednesday #emergencysurvivalplan #emergency survivalkit #wildfire #fire #survival #emergency

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“Staying informed is the first step, and then finding out how to protect yourself, your property, family, and friends – which will require decisions, and acting on them,” says Hanna.

“The other main thing that I’d recommend, and I’ve been telling this to my students for decades now, is to become part of the solution. Be part of the team that is fighting climate change and joining organisations that are proactive in addressing climate change.

“It’s vital for our mental health. We all have responsibility and we all need to work together.”