Friday, January 10, 2025
On Tuesday, a set of wildfires exploded across Los Angeles County, burning thousands of homes and displacing hundreds of thousands of residents.
Two days later, the largest fires are not in the least bit contained, and new fires are erupting several times a day.
California is no stranger to wildfires, but this time is different. There are two main reasons: the presence of hurricane-strength winds gusting up to 100 MPH, and the fact that Los Angeles has had no rain whatsoever for more than 8 months.
In these kind of conditions, before firefighters can get a structure fire under control, embers are blown for miles into dry brush that acts as tinder and ignites a new fire. Furthermore, aerial firefighting efforts must be curtailed under such windy conditions. Luckily, wind conditions have calmed down considerably today, allowing firefighting efforts to resume from the sky. Thousands of fire personnel from throughout the state and surrounding states have also come to join the effort.
The devastation is already of epic proportions, and this isn’t anywhere near over. Yet, in the midst of this catastrophe, accusations are flying like embers, accusing government officials of being unprepared or sabotaging fire suppression efforts.
In one of the more bizarre conspiracy theories, pro-Hamas groups are actually saying (with a straight face!) that there’s a connection between homes burning in California and fires in Gaza. (Reality Check: There have been no wildfires in Gaza, and embers don’t cross oceans and continents.)
The truth is, our weather conditions are becoming more and more extreme. Just like North Carolina had never been hit with hurricane damage like they received last year, Los Angeles had never before seen 100 MPH wind gusts in a bone dry January. Fire hydrants likely went dry because never before had there been so much demand for so much water at once—not because of some nefarious public works scheme.
Instead of trying to throw around accusations, we’d all be better served by recognizing that these extreme weather events are no longer Black Swans. We can’t turn the clock back on what’s happening in LA this week, but we can start to plan better for more such events in the future.
We have the choice of dealing with heated discussions about future events now—or getting scorched by the next weather disaster coming our way in the future.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
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