On January 7th, 2025, California began to burn. Powerful wind speeds picked up, and soon, fires began blazing out of control.
While there have been many fires that have sprung up across the state of California, the biggest by far is the Palisades fire, which has affected large swathes of Los Angeles county. As of January 26th 2025, the Palisades fire had already burned more than 24,000 acres, and is only around 77% contained. Thousands now deal with loss of property and have been forced to evacuate as the fires continue to spread. I was able to talk about the fires with some close family friends from the area, Dr. Emmanuelle Schwartzman and Michael Curley, in order to get the perspective of LA residents on this catastrophic event.
Children have been forced to leave schools, either for reasons such as chemicals in the air, fire zone warnings, or even the fact that there is no school to return to. “Personally, the high school that we were sending our son to is Palisades High School,” said Dr. Schwartzman, a professor at Chapman University and chair of the department of Pharmacy Practice. “The entire neighborhood, and 30% of the school has burned. The environment around it, it’s just not safe for kids.”
Even as schools are allowed to reopen, they still have their fair share of issues to face. “My kids just went back to school,” Schwartzman said, “but students have reported that there is ash in the lockers, there’s just so much ash, how can we be sure it’s safe?”
Chemicals such as lead have been found to be in ash. Air pollution, and the risk of chemicals, is definitely a concern. California locals have always had to have a greater sense of urgency regarding fires due to the regularity of these disasters in this part of the country. “Everyone who lives in hills is always thinking during the fire season that they may have to evacuate,” Schwartzman said. “Unfortunately for Palisades, we know people who didn’t have much time to evacuate. As the fire gets closer we’ve packed and unpacked numerous times.”
Schwartzman says that she is so blessed to have a fully intact home, and is also grateful for the 405 highway that separates the Palisades fire from Beverly Hills. “Essentially the highway can act as a barrier, but that won’t stop sparks from flying across the road. Everyone loves living in the hills, but unfortunately it is a lot closer to fire territory.”
Michael Curley, another LA resident, added his own thoughts about the fires, as well as predictions for rebuilding. “
There’s been a huge loss of property and money from all these people living in these affected areas,” Curley said. “I personally think in terms of rebuilding they’ve got to do a lot of testing of the soil and all the contaminants. People aren’t really sure what is out there in terms of toxins. It’ll be a very slow process. Hopefully they do it in a way that’s a little more fireproof.”
California is of course no stranger to fires, but the wildfires of 2025 are definitely one for the books. With so many homes burning, and containment still below 100%, no one knows how much the fire is going to burn. “It’s the most significant thing we’ve seen in a long time,” said Curley.
As the Palisades fire continues to cover more ground, the community must bind together like never before. With so much lost, it’s up to the people of the state to lean on each other for support. “If anything,” Curley said, “I do feel like the fires have brought LA a little closer together.”
If you would like to support the victims of the LA fires, the Business Club is selling donuts outside the cafeteria, so keep an eye out for the next time they are selling! You can also visit the following sites to donate to the relief effort through the California Fire Foundation or the American Red Cross.
