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While other states are facing winter snow storms and below freezing temperatures, Los Angeles County was hit with record breaking winds, with gusts reaching up to 100 miles per hour in certain areas.

The lack of humidity and strong winds are the main catalysts for wildfires. LA County felt the effects of the hazardous conditions with multiple fires igniting on Tuesday, Jan. 9. 

LA County is no stranger to fires. In 2020 alone, Lake Fire burned just over 30,000 acres near Lake Hughes and Bobcat burned over 115,000 acres in the Angeles National Forest.

As of today, there are five major fires to be aware of: Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, Kenneth and Lidia. 

The Palisades Fire began Tuesday morning and since then has grown to become over 20,000 acres. 

It has been named the most destructive fire in LA History, having destroyed over 5,000 structures and forced over 180,000 people to evacuate. Many are being forced to flee to nearby hotels and shelters.

Currently, the Palisades Fire is said to be 8% contained but the continued windy conditions have the fire spreading north, towards Topanga. Yesterday alone, the fire grew 3,000+ acres.

Over 3,000 LAFD personnel have been assigned, have over 20 helicopters, 350 engines and many more resources. 

Firefighters have been fighting relentlessly for over 72 hours attempting to create a threshold to prevent the fire from devastating more communities.

Their efforts are commended by the entire State of California, yet fall short to the destruction the fires are bringing to The City of Los Angeles.

The Eaton Fire, located in Pasadena and Altadena, started Tuesday night and quickly grew to its current scope of 13,690 acres. It has destroyed over 4,000 homes and killed five people.

The Hurst fire, despite beginning Tuesday night, remains 771 acres, 37% contained. According to the California Department of Protection and Fire Protection, 300 personnel are assigned to the fire.  

The Kenneth Fire, despite starting yesterday around 3:30pm, has quickly grown to be 1,000 acres, currently 35% contained. 

The last major fire to be aware of is the Lidia Fire that began on Wednesday, Jan. 8th around 2pm. It has grown to be 395 acres and is 75% contained.

Although the Palisades and Eaton fires had been ongoing all day Tuesday, classes at Van Nuys and throughout LAUSD resumed on Wednesday, Jan. 8, with an update provided later Wednesday evening. 

Board President, Scott M. Schmerelson and Board Vice-President Dr. Rocio Rivas released a statement on Wednesday at 4 p.m. sharing that due to the deteriorating air quality and the safety of the students, schools will be closed on Thursday and Friday. 

Despite the statement being released, Senior Amber Chaudhry believes that a statement should’ve been released earlier due to the dangerous conditions affecting students and staff.

“I think LAUSD should have closed schools sooner because some families were in the evacuation zones or had loved ones who needed help evacuating,” Chaudhry said. “Not to mention the brutal winds and unsafe driving conditions. So many people on the road could have further delayed the fire department from reaching some of the fires.”

Senior Sharlene Kaur shares the same sentiments. 

“LAUSD should have closed school on Wednesday as well since conditions were really bad but it’s good that they are canceling it for Thursday and Friday,” she said.

At our school alone, two trees were seen to have fallen, leaving the school powerless for the majority of the school day on Tuesday and the PA system failing Wednesday. 

Many teachers and students didn’t show up on Wednesday due to safety concerns, leaving students who attended school without normal instruction. 

Fueled by the Santa Ana winds, the fires appear to continue spawning, with the Sunset Fire igniting Wednesday, Jan. 8, and smaller fires starting in what seems like all areas of Los Angeles. 

Combined, the LA fires have brought forth tremendous destruction, together taking over 10,000 homes, including from Hollywood Stars, notably Paris Hilton, Jeff Bridges, Eugene Levy, among many others. 

Nevertheless, the destruction reaches far beyond the Hollywood Stars, as entire communities are reduced to ashes in the span of three days. 

As more information comes to light, communities are left devastated as people learn that some of the fire hydrants were empty. 

On day two of battling the Palisades fire, all the hydrants ran out due to excessive demand, causing water pressure to become a problem. 

To add on to the problem, the Pacific Palisades’ reservoir, Santa Ynez Reservoir, holding up to 117 million gallons of water was completely dry due to repairs. 

Causing more issues, the LAFD budget was lowered, underfunding the department, which led to shortages of personnel and fire stations and support from off-duty crews, other counties and states were required to cover the budget deficit.

This included first responders from Nevada, Oregon and Washington State, showing the lack of first responders in California. 

Chaudhry expresses her thoughts on the underfunding of the LAFD.

“I think there should be more funding for the LAFD,” she said. “We are known for having wild fires, but the extent of the fires could have been different if the LAFD had more funding. In order to prevent events like this from happening in the future, there should be more precautions.”

In addition to the lack of funding, climate change continues to be an evident problem, a sentiment Junior Diego Serrano shares. 

“As much as this is an unwanted and destructive event, it serves as vivid evidence to the current environmental conditions,” Serrano said. “I hope this is a wake up call to all who doubt climate change and to leaders that without action you will continue to be at fault for any further damage as we move forward.”

As the situation continues, weather remains unpredictable and embers have the possibility of igniting more fires, it’s important to be prepared with essentials in case it is necessary to evacuate. 

The entire Van Nuys community extends their heartfelt sympathies to those being affected by the fires. 

“I sympathize with all who are affected and thank the first responders for their efforts,” Serrano said. “I hope correct action can be taken as we move forward to prevent panic and distress.”