Three days before the fires, Los Angeles and the surrounding area were idyllic. The Daily Pilot, an Orange County newspaper, even featured an article about the wintry beauty of Laguna Beach on its front page. However, on Jan. 7, fierce winds and a region parched from drought combined to create one of the most devastating fires in California’s history. Approximately two weeks later, thousands of buildings were destroyed, countless citizens displaced, and the death toll, now 28, continues to rise.
News coverage of the fires has been divided between the factual and political: local bureaucracy’s prevention of better clearing of dry brush, resurfacing feuds between President Donald Trump and Governor Gavin Newsom, and the L.A. mayor’s failure to delegate authority. After about a week of coverage, American media seemingly lost interest in the wildfires; even as the blaze continues to rage, entire neighborhoods have been destroyed, and the prospect of rain raises the concern of mudslides.
Noticing this downturn in coverage, especially regarding the underlying causes of the wildfires and the profound loss that communities have experienced, the Independent interviewed students close to the tragedy.
Underlying Causes
Before we can understand the level of devastation that wildfires have wrought on the L.A. area, it is important to review the systematic issues surrounding California’s water management and drought. Firefighters were under-equipped and underfunded, facing unusually intense fires.
After a historic “megadrought” from 2020-2022, unprecedented levels of precipitation in 2022-2023 restored major state water supplies to above-average levels. Nonetheless, this turn of events did not resolve the serious issue of groundwater overdrafting that California faces. Overdrafting, or overdrawing, occurs when more water is pumped from aquifers than can be replenished. Year after year, the state’s groundwater usage exceeds replenishment levels, diminishing an essential 40 percent of California’s annual water source.
This overuse has caused record levels of sinking in central California and potential contamination of groundwater quality—over-drafting strains water usage, water transportation, and older pipe infrastructure. Solutions to sinking in central California, such as regional water recharges, are also tied to costly and time-consuming repairs of aqueducts and canals. California’s 2024 Long-Term Drought Plan promises an Aqueduct Subsidence plan for sinking. Still, it may be necessary to extend this plan to ensure all major population centers are adequately equipped for extensive fires.
The L.A. fires exacerbated these existing problems with California’s water supply when it came time to combat the fires. A striking headline reported that fire hydrants ran dry while combating the flames. Local water supplies ran dry even though neighboring water supplies were in good condition because the water pressure in older pipes and aqueducts was too low to refill L.A.’s water, especially when faced with such a large fire.
In addition to a water shortage, firefighters faced a $17 million budget cut. While L.A. officials have pointed out that fire department spending increased this fiscal year, Fire Chief Kristin Crowley disagreed in a Dec. 4 memo.
“These budgetary reductions have adversely affected the Department’s ability to maintain core operations,” wrote Chief Crowley. Regarding a $7 million cut to Overtime Variable Staffing Hours, “v-hours,” Crowley added, “the reduction in v-hours has severely limited the Department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires, earthquakes, hazardous material incidents, and large public events.” V-hours allow the LAFD to have a flexible work model where more firefighters are on the job when there is a greater demand. These cuts may have reduced the reach of LAFD firefighters and prolonged the spread of the fires.
Consequences of the Wildfires
While many factors contributed to the L.A. fires’ destruction, the impact is undeniable. Wanting to see how these underlying factors affected Harvard’s student body, The Independent spoke with Ellie Chen ’28, Amelie Lima ’27, and Jocelyn Delgado ’28 about their personal connections to the region.
When asked about the damage they or their families experienced in the wildfires, each student offered devastating yet powerful anecdotes:
| “My grandparents live in the Pacific Palisades and were affected by the fires. They lost their entire house. That house was not only the one they resided in, but also the childhood home of my dad. They have no belongings other than the ones they left with, and they lost hundreds of pictures, memories, and valuables.” – Chen | “I grew up in the Palisades and lived there until I was 18. The majority of the town has completely burnt down; all the places I used to attend—right outside of the village—my home, my school, and church, friends’ homes, schools, and churches, all burnt down. The loss is immeasurable, not just in terms of physical structures but also in the memories and experiences associated with these places.” – Lima | “My uncle lost his whole entire house. He was finally able to go visit it again three days ago, and he took a video, and it’s completely gone. The only thing still standing is the chimney[…]. [My cousin’s] house was gone. Her high school was gone. The cemetery that my grandparents were buried in is completely burned. It honestly looks like such a ghost town.” – Delgado |
None of the interviewees found local officials’ advice or government recommendations helpful during the wildfires. “For my grandparents, they have not been very effective…An officer from L.A. County was walking around their street and telling residents that they were safe from the fires and didn’t need to evacuate. This information proved to be completely false, as an hour later, their entire street was engulfed in flames,” Chen recalled.
Additionally, since the fires spread at unprecedented rates to unexpected regions, even recommendations that might have allowed Lima or Delgado’s families to collect essential documents and supplies were fruitless. “Most people left all their belongings in their homes, which eventually burnt down—abandoned their cars, and only had the clothes on their backs left. The evacuation was chaotic, with people fleeing for their lives and not knowing if they would have a home to return to,” Lima elaborated.
One of the wildfires’ most devastating outcomes was the difficulty some families face in relocating or receiving adequate insurance compensation to cover their losses despite the high likelihood of future wildfires in the area.
“Pasadena’s a big community for Hispanic and Black people. People living in these areas already are not the most wealthy, and there’s already real estate vultures trying to make offers on land,” Delgado said.
Chen’s grandparents also would not be able to relocate: “They bought their house in the late sixties and have lived there since. They are now in their nineties and have lost everything. They cannot rebuild, and they can barely afford to move to a new place,” Chen said.
Faced with the outsized risk of losing money and impending business failures from wildfires, insurance companies have been confronted with the need to change insurance policies and reinsurance modeling. “My uncle has already talked to the insurance, which is a bit of a battle because Allstate has stopped covering wildfires because it’s too expensive for them,” Delgado said.
Although it will be challenging to relocate, let alone rebuild, families with deep roots in the community are determined to forge on.
“My grandparents are adamant to stay in L.A. That’s where they built their entire life after immigrating from Taiwan, and where they have all of their memories. Leaving L.A. to them is like admitting defeat after everything they have been through,” Chen said.
Caroline Stohrer ’28 (carolinestohrer@college.harvard.edu) has family in the San Francisco area and hopes they won’t face a similar tragedy in the future.