As the city engages in discussions about navigating the ramifications of increasingly destructive natural calamities, activists aim to leverage this critical juncture.
The Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles County, California on January 8, 2025.
(Josh Edelson / Getty)
When the Eaton Fire erupted on January 7, prompting brothers Jackson Brooks, 17, and Niko Brooks, 19, to evacuate their residence, they witnessed from a distance as the flames engulfed entire neighborhoods.
“We felt utterly powerless, as we believed it was our duty to return home, safeguarding our property and our community while it fell apart in front of us,” Jackson expressed.
In the ensuing days, the brothers initiated a GoFundMe to acquire water, clothes, and other essentials for those who lost their homes, and established an Instagram account to rally volunteers—primarily fellow high school peers from the Altadena-Pasadena vicinity—to assist in cleanup and donation distribution for fire victims.
The Eaton Fire transformed their perspective on the climate crisis. “To be frank, I hadn’t given much thought to climate change prior,” admitted Jackson. “Witnessing the wildfires and the devastation across Southern California is just heartbreaking,” he said. “It’s tangible. We have evidence of it. It’s here, and it significantly impacts everyone.”
“I used to hike in those charred mountains every weekend during high school,” Niko recalled.
For many residents of Los Angeles, the wildfires in January marked their most immediate encounter with the repercussions of climate change. As the city deliberates over the best approaches to mitigate the effects of increasingly severe natural disasters, could these wildfires serve as a catalyst for the climate movement in Los Angeles?
The influence of climate change on California’s escalating wildfires is well-established. Of the top 20 most destructive wildfires in California’s history, fifteen occurred in the past decade. The Eaton and Palisades fires, two among many that have wreaked havoc in the Los Angeles region over the past fortnight, are both ranked among the five most destructive wildfires in the state’s history, having destroyed over 12,000 buildings and displaced numerous families.
The ongoing wildfire crisis in LA is partially attributed to rising temperatures throughout the state and insufficient rainfall since July 2024. “Essentially, our region is experiencing a whiplash effect between years of extreme rainfall and years of severe drought,” stated Olivia Sanderfoot, a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA studying the effects of wildfire smoke on avian and other wildlife. While wet years foster plant growth, drought conditions desiccate vegetation—setting the stage for rapid fire spread.
Southern California—especially LA, flanked by mountains—has always been recognized as fire-prone, with a fire season extending from June to October, peaking in summer. However, climate change may propel Los Angeles into a constant fire season. “It’s unprecedented for us to witness such a phenomenon in wintertime in California,” Sanderfoot noted, “to experience a megafire of this scale and destructiveness, and certainly two.”
Kevin J. Patel, the founder of the youth-driven environmental organization, OneUpAction, grew up in South Central LA and is well-acquainted with the ramifications of climate change. “My community grapples with a spectrum of injustices, such as factories, oil refineries, and the lack of green spaces; leaving us in an area riddled with air pollution.” Patel remarked. “During my sixth-grade year, I was directly affected by this; enduring heart palpitations that necessitated frequent hospital visits throughout sixth to eighth grade.”
When the wildfires ignited in LA, Patel evacuated to the Bay Area. Despite not residing in an evacuation zone, the deteriorating air quality exacerbated his existing health issues. “While affluent communities were impacted by the wildfires, we must also consider the effects on our communities in the southside, namely South Central and Crenshaw,” Punjab added. “Many of these neighborhoods lack access to air purifiers and N95 masks.”
Isaias Hernandez, an advocate for environmental issues on his platform, Queer Brown Vegan, grew up in Sylmar, California—the location of the Hurst Fire, one of several raging in LA last week. When the fire erupted, Hernandez assisted in evacuating his elderly parents to his brother’s residence in North Hollywood. This was not Hernandez’s first experience with wildfire evacuation in Los Angeles. “I recall the Sayre Fire during my middle school years [in 2008] when the entire sky turned black, enveloped in smog,” Hernandez recounted. “At lunchtime, as I munched on a cheese pizza, dark ashes fell upon it. Gazing upward, I saw large clumps of black ash raining down, while our teachers urged us to ‘Get inside.’”
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Hernandez remembers his parents’ anxiety after hearing rumors about ICE agents being present at relief shelter locations. For him, the Sayre Fire fueled his personal commitment to environmental advocacy, particularly regarding its intersections with racial and political concerns. Nonetheless, he harbors skepticism regarding whether the current LA wildfire crisis will mobilize others. “I feel that many individuals are gravitating towards conservative values and attributing blame while perpetuating misinformation about these issues, rather than framing it as an environmental crisis,” he expressed.
Nicole Curristan, a junior studying environmental science at UCLA, remarked, “No event has highlighted the urgency of climate change quite like these fires.” Curristan hopes the wildfire crisis can reinvigorate the climate movement. “For our generation specifically, we were entering high school just as the Fridays For Future climate protests began, and now as college students, I believe we are on the brink of increased climate action, especially with the prospect of a second Trump administration,” Curristan stated.
Professor Shannon Gibson, who teaches environmental studies, political science, and international relations at the University of Southern California, holds a more cautious view. “Social movements and frontline communities operate within a framework where challenges abound. They lack the financial resources that larger entities, like governments and corporations possess, but what they do hold is something we have always relied upon: people power—the ability of communities to unite and rally around issues they are deeply passionate about,” Gibson noted. “However, persistent struggles like these take their toll. Witnessing disaster after disaster impacting our already marginalized communities raises my concerns about the psychological strain involved.”
In this enduring struggle, the climate movement must confront a well-known adversary: President Trump. Even as cities like Los Angeles face escalating weather-related disasters due to climate change, Trump, who has dismissed climate change as a “hoax,” has promised to intensify fossil fuel extraction efforts.
Already, amidst a barrage of executive orders enacted just hours post-inauguration, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 Paris climate agreement and issued an order titled “Unleashing American Energy,” which removes incentives for electric vehicle production and promotes energy exploration and extraction on federal lands. Trump further declared an “energy emergency” through executive action, aiming to boost the nation’s energy output—a juxtaposition noted in his inauguration speech’s rallying cry of “drill, baby, drill.”
Looking ahead, climate activists could draw inspiration from Los Angeles’ swift mobilization during this critical period to provide mutual aid and support.
However, as Curristan emphasizes, genuine advocacy concerning climate change necessitates recognizing the devastation and losses endured by communities across Los Angeles in recent weeks: for collective action to emerge, collective healing must precede it.
“The extent of destruction and environmental violence has taken place alarmingly close to where we attend school, and for many, their homes,” Curristan reflected. “A prolonged period of collective healing and a method for coming together to support one another and foster hope collectively are essential as we move forward.”
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