On Jan. 7, the city of Los Angeles was struck by multiple deadly wildfires that forced more than 92,000 residents to evacuate their homes and killed 27 people, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. In addition, the wildfires also destroyed more than 12,000 homes, businesses, and buildings over the last week, with Red Flag warnings being issued all across the coastal Southern California area such as Eaton, Hurst and the Palisades county.
Charles Lujan, lieutenant of the Hazmat Task Force on Sea Shift at El Paso Fire Station No. 5, stated the situation of businesses, schools and restaurants, as they are still continuing to operate in spite of the destruction from the wildfires.
“As far as businesses, I’ve seen the ones that survived in the heartbreak of the eye of the storm”, Lujan said. “Restaurants that did not get affected are volunteering and giving food away, volunteering 24 hours, just cooks coming in.”
“Schools, they’re going to start moving people to open spaces and probably go back to how they were during COVID.” Lujan said. “That’s if they could get any Wi-Fi service out there with everything that’s happened with the downed wiring, so hopefully there’s a solution but unfortunately they’re just going to have to adjust.”
The Los Angeles Police Department officers suggested a wide range of possibilities for the start of the wildfires in the state, some narrowing in on a previous fire that the city’s fire department thought they had responded to on New Year’s Day on the ridge high above Los Angeles. There have been at least 44 arrests related to the fires, 36 being related to the Eaton fires, and 8 were connected to the Palisades fires, according to comments made by Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna in a press briefing on Jan. 15, 2025.
According to ABC7 Los Angeles, an Oregon couple, Dustin Nehl, 44 and Jennifer Nehl, 34, were arrested for impersonating firefighters and entering an evacuation zone. The couple were driving a firetruck purchased at an auction, which firefighters in the county deemed to “not appear legitimate”, as they made contact with the couple driving into an evacuation zone.
The couple claimed to be from “Roaring River Fire Department” back in Oregon, wearing turnout gear and Cal Fire t-shirts. They also had helmets and radios in their possession.
This recent incident of wildfires was also traced back to a previous incident in 1991 in the city of Oakland, where a wildfire ruined more than 2,500 buildings after firefighters claimed they stopped it. The fire began at six acres but was not completely out, which caused winds to pick up and increase the severity of the flames.
Winds in the state were reported to be traveling anywhere from 58 to 72 mph, as indicated by the LA National Weather Service.
According to an update from last Tuesday by the state of California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection., authorities were working on addressing smoke and heat sources along with conducting mop-up operations and tactical operations. These measures were taken to confirm missing persons reports, decrease fire hazards, and report accurate measures of loss in the area.
Christopher Escandon, Battalion Chief of El Paso Fire Department No.5, explains the importance of being prepared in serious situations of danger, especially being in the fire service.
“Being in the fire service, it’s all about preparedness.” Escandon said, “Our education program teaches us how to be prepared for any incident that comes our way, and we train mentally and physically every day, and every fire department does that and has the duty to be prepared.”
In a report made by the state of California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. , 95% of wildfires are caused by people, often due to carelessness of not properly turning off heating tools, infrastructure failures and ignitions. In a 2022 study conducted by UC Irvine, human-ignited fires were far more dangerous than blazes produced by lightning strikes.
“We try to educate people and let them know that you can prevent fires just like when winter hits and people are turning on their heating equipment.” Escandon said. “We advise people to be careful with how you plug in things, maintain your equipment, especially for tools such as fire alarms.”
As crews continue to battle against the continuous fires in Los Angeles County, Southern California is now facing strong fire-fueling Santa Ana winds ranging from 50 to 70 mph in coasts and valleys and 60 to 100 mph in mountains and foothills. 56% of the fire in Palisades has been contained while 81% of the fire has been contained in Eaton. 40,602 acres of the county have been demolished.
Eduardo Gomez, Fire Suppression Technician at El Paso Fire Station No. 5, offers his support to the Los Angeles County while also sending words of courage to firefighters in the county to keep striving to save others’ lives through their field of work.
“I know it’s tough, it’s really demanding.” Gomez said. “Because we love it, it’s to help people, protect property and save.”
“I got a message to them to keep on moving forward, it’s hard and you get tired but that’s why we have this job because we do it out of unselfishness, for sure.”
Daniela Ordaz is a contributing writer for The Prospector and may be reached at [email protected].
