When the first fire sparked in Los Angeles on January 7, people knew it could be bad. The city hadn’t felt rain in months, and Santa Ana winds were predicted to blow from the east at near-hurricane strength. They just didn’t know how bad it would get. “It was a devil wind,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone told 60 Minutes. “The conditions that night were unbearable.”
The resulting infernos killed at least 29 people and burned more than 200 square kilometers, wiping entire neighborhoods away. It would be reassuring to think that the blazes were a bizarre anomaly. But they’re not. In January, 2,128 fires burned across the country, from California to Virginia. It’s the highest number for January in the last 10 years.
With the LA fires finally receding, new threats are emerging. In this issue, we focus on the challenges that increasing numbers of people worldwide face after a wildfire. For one, staff writer Nikk Ogasa reports, deadly debris flows present an immediate threat. When rain finally arrives, it can cause scorched slopes to peel away, bulldozing neighborhoods. Even while the flames were still raging in LA, scientists were hard at work identifying areas most at risk so that people could be warned to stay clear.
Heavy metals and toxic chemicals also threaten the health of anyone working or living in the city, senior writer Tina Hesman Saey reports. They’re in the air, the water, even coating the insides of houses that didn’t burn. By every estimate, cleaning up and rebuilding will take years.
But the toughest challenge may be helping people regain their equilibrium. Mental health problems can persist for years after a natural disaster, social sciences writer Sujata Gupta reports, and people who didn’t suffer the loss of a house or loved ones are still vulnerable to long-term distress. We’ll continue to cover the aftermath of the LA fires and other natural disasters fueled by a warming world.
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