Topline:
A new study that looked at wildfires around the world says climate change likely made L.A.'s January fires worse. The how is complicated.
A number of factors: Strong winds, high temperatures and dry brush all played a role in driving the fires.
Read on ... to learn more about how climate change came into play.
Strong winds, warm weather, dry brush and a lack of rain: All of those factors and more came together to make L.A.’s January wildfires some of the worst on record.
But were those conditions made worse by climate change?
Authors of a new study published in Earth System Science Data try to quantify the answer, writing that climate change probably made the Eaton and Palisades fires more likely and could have resulted in the burned area being 25 times larger than it would have been without climate change (though there’s a large range of uncertainty in that estimation).
“Those fires in January were just so much more difficult to control because it was so dry, because it was warmer,” said Crystal Kolden, professor and director of the Fire Resilience Center at UC Merced and a co-author of the paper. “And that is where that climate change signal is really strong.”
There’s a clear scientific consensus that climate change is associated with hotter temperatures, which can cause plants to dry out faster than they otherwise would.
However, there’s less certainty around other factors that played a role in January, according to Park Williams, a professor in the Department of Geography at UCLA, whose work was cited in the study but who did not participate in it.
It’s unclear if climate change is causing our rainy seasons to be delayed more often (as was the case in January), though models suggest a trend in that direction, Williams said.
There’s also uncertainty around whether climate change is exacerbating the whiplash between wet and dry years in Southern California — lots of fuel grew in the two wet years prior to a dry 2024.
And how it may be changing the Santa Ana winds, which normally do blow in January.
“These are all things where the effect of climate change is just much murkier,” Williams said.
Modeling our fire future here is further complicated by the highly variable fuel types, the weather, the homes and the vegetation across Southern California’s topographically complex terrain.
Some models may work well in wildlands like forests, where the main thing that’s burning is natural vegetation, Kolden said. But many hard-to-predict human factors are present in the wildland urban interface — places like the Pacific Palisades, where homes are built right up against open natural areas. Those variables can make the models less confident.
“ I think that it's important that people who are living in Southern California understand that actually in the greater L.A. area, coastal Southern California, we have not seen an increase in the number of fires or the area burned,” Williams said.
Northern California is another story, he said.
“The fingerprint of climate change is just unmistakable” with fires in the Sierra Nevada and North Coast.
What humans do next is perhaps the biggest X factor, Kolden said.
“What we always say is we can't model human adaptation,” Kolden said. “We don't model humans adapting to these changes and saying, ‘Yeah, you know what? We actually don't like having our houses burned down, so we're going to start hardening our homes.’”
If you’d like to do just that with your landscaping, we've got some tips here.
Topline:
State and local lawmakers are joining immigrant rights groups in urging Governor Gavin Newsom to sign a bill that would bar California law enforcement from moonlighting for ICE.
Why it matters: If implemented, the bill would ban California police, sheriffs and other law enforcement from taking on second jobs that involve “arresting, detaining, transporting, or deporting” people.
What police unions say: The Peace Officers Research Association Of California, which represents officers across the state, has spoken out against the bill, arguing that “policies like this don’t improve public safety.”
What the bill’s supporters argue: Pointing to multiple deaths involving federal immigration agents in recent months — from Minneapolis to Houston — and to a recent shooting in Austin, supporters like José Madera, who directs the Pasadena Job Center, say: “We don't need our local police to be part of that violence.”
What's next: Gov. Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the bill.
Go deeper: Los Angeles protesters join nationwide call to action against ICE
State and local lawmakers are joining immigrant rights groups in urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill that would bar California law enforcement from moonlighting for ICE.
Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, who represents Angelenos from South L.A. to Mar Vista, introduced AB 1537 in January. If implemented, the bill would ban California police, sheriffs and other law enforcement from taking on second jobs that involve “arresting, detaining, transporting, or deporting” people.
The bill has made its way through the state legislature and is now on the governor’s desk. Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto it.
At a press conference outside L.A. City Hall on Wednesday, José Madera, who directs the Pasadena Job Center, pointed to multiple deaths involving federal immigration agents in recent months — from Minneapolis to Houston — and to a recent shooting in Austin. “We don't need our local police to be part of that violence,” he said.
“ICE is a lawless, rogue agency that is terrorizing our communities, separating our families and kidnapping our neighbors,” said Bruno Huizar, supervising policy manager at the California Immigrant Policy Center. “Governor Newsom must sign AB 1537 into law to protect Californians.”
L.A. City councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, whose own parents were undocumented, said it pained him to see immigrant parents go to work and to church in fear of being separated from their children.
“If you’re a public servant, you should be serving the public — not helping ICE tear families apart,” he added in a follow-up email statement.
The bill, dubbed “No side jobs for ICE” by its proponents, would also require officers to report secondary employment offers relating to immigration to their employers.
“If a law enforcement agent gets a conditional offer from an immigration enforcement agency, that will be part of their employment records. And that will be subject to a public records act request,” said Shiu-Ming Cheer, a licensed attorney at the California Immigration Policy Center. “This is aimed at bringing transparency, so that we know how many officers are actually getting offers to work as an ICE agent or a Border Patrol agent.”
The Peace Officers Research Association of California, which represents officers across the state, has spoken out against the bill, arguing that “policies like this don’t improve public safety.” The Los Angeles Police Protective League did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.
The bill is part of a growing effort to bar local law enforcement from engaging in the ongoing mass deportation effort. The L.A. City Council approved a motion in March, barring city employees from holding second jobs with federal immigration enforcement agencies.
In Santa Ana, the City Council recently adopted a policy that prohibits employees from obtaining outside work that involves federal immigration enforcement activities.
Topline:
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill aimed at protecting children who are abused. The law, which went into effect this week, is named “Gabriel’s Law,” after Gabriel Fernandez— an 8-year-old boy in Palmdale who died in 2013 after being tortured and abused by his mother and her boyfriend.
The backstory: Gabriel died in May 2013, after months of abuse from his mother and her boyfriend. His mother and her boyfriend were both sentenced. A teacher had reported signs of abuse to the county, but social workers did not remove him from the home and ended the investigation.
Keep reading: To learn more about what the law changes.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill aimed at protecting children who are abused.
The law, which went into effect this week, is named “Gabriel’s Law,” after Gabriel Fernandez — an 8-year-old boy in Palmdale who died in 2013 after being tortured and abused by his mother and her boyfriend.
“It devastated the community. Still has,” said State Assemblymember Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale), who worked on legislation related to Gabriel’s case for years. “It hasn't gone away, right? It’s something we still acknowledge.”
Since Fernandez’s death, the Antelope Valley has seen a number of high-profile child deaths at the hands of their parents.
The new law requires social workers to make sure a child gets emergency medical care when needed, and it makes it easier to prosecute social workers who knowingly falsify records.
Officials said there had been warning signs about Fernandez’s abuse, but social workers with the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services failed to follow up on them. The high-profile case prompted internal reforms in the agency.
Gabriel died in May 2013, after months of abuse from his mother and her boyfriend. He was found with a number of injuries, including a fractured skull, broken ribs and BB pellets lodged in his body. His mother and her boyfriend were both sentenced.
A teacher had reported signs of abuse to the county, but social workers did not remove him from the home. Then they ended the investigation. Prosecutors charged the social workers with child abuse, but the charges were later dismissed.
“He was literally tortured. And there were many, many, many documented events, and there are many encounters that he had with people that lacked follow-up,” Lackey said.
Before this week, the law said that social workers may authorize care if a child needs immediate emergency care, but did not require it. Gabriel’s law requires a social worker to secure medical care for a child.
“ They call for an ambulance or escort the child to an emergency room— make sure a physician has the opportunity to provide some level of remedy and documentation of the injury,” Lackey said.
It also clarifies the law so that social workers who are guilty of falsifying or destroying public records can be imprisoned or fined.
Lackey’s previous legislative efforts related to Fernandez’s case failed over the years. He introduced at least five different pieces of legislation that failed to advance.
“I'm not even saying that I blame the pushback and the concern, because if you're too aggressive, there's a tendency to accuse people of wrongdoing when they are not guilty of wrongdoing, so we wanted to make sure that the balance was reasonable,” he said.
Lackey terms out this year. “We're trying to do something as a community to not only pay tribute to [Gabriel], but to prevent it from reoccurring,” he said.
Topline:
The LAFD said the fire was caused by an “electrical event” that occurred on the roof of the building, but could not determine what caused it.
Why it matters: In response to the inconclusive investigation, District 14 Councilmember Ysabel Jurado said, “LAFD’s finding that the cause remains undetermined does nothing to alleviate what Boyle Heights residents have endured and are still carrying: months of health concerns and disruption, along with unanswered questions about whether this site can safely operate again.”
The backstory: The fire and subsequent cleanup of millions of pounds of rotting food caused a flood of issues for residents living in Boyle Heights, East LA and surrounding communities, including an infestation of flies and pests, nausea and headaches, higher utility bills and other health concerns.
The Los Angeles Fire Department has completed its investigation into the cause of the Lineage warehouse fire in Boyle Heights but was unable to determine what caused it.
In a press release, LAFD said the June 17 fire was caused by an “electrical event” that occurred on the roof of the building, “adjacent to a section of solar panels.” Despite a “comprehensive investigation,” the department could not determine what caused the electrical event.
“The Department’s thoughts remain with all those impacted by this deeply tragic incident,” Arson and Fire Investigation Chief Thomas Raymond said in a release.
In response to the inconclusive investigation, District 14 Councilmember Ysabel Jurado said, “LAFD’s finding that the cause remains undetermined does nothing to alleviate what Boyle Heights residents have endured and are still carrying: months of health concerns and disruption, along with unanswered questions about whether this site can safely operate again.”
“The fact that we still cannot explain how this catastrophe began is yet another reason I will continue opposing any permits to rebuild this facility,” Jurado said.
Recently, the LA City Council voted to withhold rebuilding permits for the Lineage warehouse until after the Los Angeles Fire Department completed its investigation. Earlier this month, Lineage Chief Executive Officer Greg Lehmkuhl told Boyle Heights Beat and The LA Local that the company had not decided whether to rebuild, saying, “We’re still focused on holding the right people accountable here and making sure that we’re continuing to support the community.”
The CEO’s comments came after Lineage sued solar power provider Altus Power, Inc. and its contractor, blaming them for the fire. Altus Power and its contractor dispute those claims.
In a statement following the completed investigation, Lineage said, “Today’s report from the Los Angeles Fire Department validates what we have known all along: This was a solar fire.”
The fire and subsequent cleanup of millions of pounds of rotting food caused a flood of issues for residents living in Boyle Heights, East LA and surrounding communities, including an infestation of flies and pests, nausea and headaches, higher utility bills and other health concerns.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Boyle Heights Beat senior reporter Alejandra Molina and LA Local reporter Christopher Damien contributed to this report.
The post LAFD closes investigation into Lineage warehouse fire without determining a cause appeared first on LA Local.
Topline:
The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is stocking 1,000 disaster relief packs in partnership with Abbott, the maker of Pediasure and Pedialyte. Food and water shortages can often follow after disasters.
Why it matters: Last year’s L.A. fires were a stark reminder to emergency preparedness groups that cut off power and water can lead to a food crisis.
Why now: California is bracing itself for likely heavy rain and flooding as El Niño weather conditions are forecast for the West Coast this winter.
The backstory: For decades, Abbot has created similar disaster packs in Southern states for hurricane preparedness. It’s the company’s first West Coast collaboration.
Go deeper: Gov. Gavin Newsom says California should get ready for extreme weather this winter.
