California is known to have many wildfires, however the wildfires that started at the beginning of 2025, have been some of the worst ever.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire, over 50,000 acres have been burned, there have been 28 fatalities, and nearly 16,000 structures destroyed. There have been over 35,000 emergency responses and many people have evacuated the area as well.
The fires include the Eaton and Palisade fires. Most recently however, a new fire, the Hughes fire broke out Jan. 22 at around 10:30 AM in northern Los Angeles. The fire has grown to about 10,000 acres in size, but fire officials have said that they are “getting the upper hand on it.”
California has had a long history of fires, the first one being the Santiago Canyon Fire in 1889. Since then, many
fires have ravaged the area. The worst ones being the Camp Fire in 2018, which destroyed over 18,000 structures and killed 85 people, and the August Complex Fire, which burned over a one million acres of land according to Western Fire Chiefs Association
. In attempts to quell the fires, California governor Gavin Newsom has brought over 16,000 firefighters into action, and utilized over 2,000 pieces of firefighting equipment such as aircrafts, fire engines, and water tenders according to the Governor of California.
