The Palisades and Eaton fires began in Southern California on January 7, 2025. They destroyed over 16,000 structures and burned 38,000 acres. One year later, photos show the remaining devastation as rebuilding work continues. In January 2025, the Palisades and Eaton fires burned 38,000 acres across Southern California. Over 16,000 homes and businesses were destroyed as windstorms propelled the flames, according to the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services.
One of the many delights of America is that its geography is also a vocabulary. If I say "Portland, Oregon," or "the Hamptons," or "Appalachia," the reader knows instantly which stereotypes are being invoked: the middle-class Maoist, the summering WASP, the hick. This shorthand allows American authors to invest their prose with extra meaning, just by using it somewhere. The rollout for Olivia Nuzzi's new book, American Canto, has therefore leaned heavily into the elementary turbulence of California.
After deadly wildfires in Los Angeles in the beginning of the year, and a series of massive blazes over the summer, California is experiencing a "calm period" with no major fires currently burning. Cal Fire's emergency incident webpage, which lists all the ongoing wildfires in the state, does not currently show any active blazes as of Tuesday afternoon. And experts are thanking favorable weather over the past two months.
It depends on where you live, fire experts say. And simply put, there's more risk in Southern California right now than Northern California. We have not yet seen enough rain in Southern California to end fire season, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. But we probably have in Northern California.
Think about your own home. How often do you blow the leaves off your roof? Or sweep the debris off your front porch? Those are important because if an ember lands on them, they can catch fire. But we aren't doing that kind of maintenance on a regular basis. Anywhere we have debris accumulating on roofs, porches, decks, patio furniture - you might see piles of leaf debris on the corners of your deck - those are areas where embers are going to catch.
Seventy percent of the 20 most destructive wildfires in state history have occurred since fall 2017, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. To understand the pace and extent of rebuilding in the most significant of these fires, The Times relied on data from state and local governments. The Times obtained data in February from the Cal Fire Damage Inspection Database, known as DINS, which documents buildings burned in wildfires.
It began not with a Yankees pitch, but with a post. On an otherwise ordinary day, baseball fans scrolling through Instagram stumbled upon a cryptic message set against a plain black background. No highlight reel, no celebration, no context, just five simple words that left many pausing mid-scroll. The post came from Marcus Stroman. Once viewed as a misfit in Yankee pinstripes, Stroman has never walked the straight line expected of him in the Bronx.
Tuna transforms rusted wrecks into art, utilizing stained-glass salvaged from centuries-old church windows to create unique automotive masterpieces, showcasing his artistic vision and heritage.
Insurance is the climate crisis canary in the coal mine, and the canary is dying. Severe-weather events are more common and extreme because we're not doing enough, fast enough, to transition from fossil fuels and other greenhouse gas-emitting industries.
