Explainer: How climate change is escalating California’s destructive wildfires

(Tiếng Việt)

This article belongs to a larger series on California wildfires and climate change.

By: Yannie Gia-Nhi Hoàng

Up in flames and choked with smoke—in a blaze is how Southern California began 2025. Throughout January, weeks of raging wildfires, mainly the Palisades and Eaton Fires, engulfed Los Angeles County and forced many residents to evacuate their homes and seek shelter. Many Californians are used to wildfires, but the 2025 wildfires “rank among the deadliest and most destructive fires in California history”. Overall, wildfires in California have become more intense and frequent in recent years.

How California’s wildfire seasons have changed

Wildfire seasons—”defined by the dates of the first large fire and the last large fire control”—in the western U.S. have been lengthening for the last few decades. Wildfires usually occur in the summer and fall, “typically [starting] in June and [continuing] through October, when the weather is hot and dry.” However, since the 1970s, wildfire seasons have increased “from 5 months to over 7 months in length” and, “since the 1980s, the annual number of large fires and area burned has significantly increased.” 

This year’s wildfire season was no exception. With over 200 fire alerts between January 7 and January 22, this year has already exceeded “more than 130 times the average [in fire alerts] for the first four weeks of the years from 2012-2024.” Other than 2025, only 2021 had “more than 10 fire alerts in Los Angeles between January and March”. 

Why are we seeing such dramatic environmental changes?

Climate change, namely global warming, has made wildfires more frequent and destructive. Increasing greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming “have disrupted natural fire patterns globally,” according to Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist at the Nature Conservancy and Texas Tech University. “As average temperatures in California continue to rise, so does its vulnerability to catastrophic fires,” adds Hayhoe. 

Southern California’s hot, dry climate, its strong, 90 mile-per-hour Santa Ana winds that can carry embers long distances, and communities built near vegetation create the perfect storm. These key ingredients are why wildfires generally spread so quickly and are so difficult to contain in Southern California.  

This year in particular, a dry fall followed by a dry winter left behind dry, flammable vegetation that set the stage for a major wildfire season. Climate scientists have already characterized 2025 as an “extreme outlier, fueled by unusually severe fire weather conditions.” 

How does this affect Vietnamese American communities?

Health and environmental impact 

Southern California is “home to the largest Vietnamese population in the U.S.,” with Los Angeles being the top metropolitan area for Vietnamese Americans. The negative health and environmental impact of wildfires ultimately also affect Vietnamese Americans. 

This year alone, wildfires displaced tens of thousands of people and killed at least 29. The wildfires also destroyed thousands of homes, businesses, and other structures, and caused potentially billions of dollars in property damage. Because these wildfires burnt down manmade structures, the resulting smoke and ash contained hazardous materials, including asbestos and heavy metals such as lead. This “hazardous air quality, increased ash, and debris” can cause major problems when inhaled and can be spread far distances by the Santa Ana winds. 

On January 10, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health “declared a local health emergency in Los Angeles County and issued an order temporarily banning the use of air blowing devices, like leaf blowers” due to the extremely poor air quality. 

Residents within 250 yards of the Palisades and Eaton burn areas face an increased risk of exposure to hazardous substances. During the wildfires this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded an approximate 110-fold increase in lead levels. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has even offered free blood lead testing for impacted communities. In addition, firefighters working to extinguish the wildfires are regularly exposed to toxins. This can lead to serious, long-term health effects including cancer.

Economic consequences

Before the wildfires this year, several large insurance companies had “already paused or canceled coverage” in California. They cited “the high risk of fire, state caps on premiums and increased construction costs” as major financial burdens. In the aftermath of the wildfires, “losses [are] expected to exceed $250 billion,” while questions remain about who will pay. The state of California is still negotiating with insurance companies for Californians in wildfire-affected areas to remain insured, but the deal is still up in the air. Although the state-funded California FAIR Plan exists, it is a last resort for homeowners with no other insurance options and is criticized for its high cost and limited coverage.

What can we do moving forward?

There are a few actions that you can take to protect yourself and others around you—particularly elderly and disabled community members. This includes creating a checklist of what to do in the event of a wildfire, such as packing medications, shutting off gas tanks, and “saving receipts for motels and any other evacuation-related expenses to help with the insurance process during recovery.” 

Vietnamese Americans can also advocate for better language access by requesting help in their own language. Some resources available in Vietnamese include:

• AAPI Equity Alliance’s resource guide
  
• 714-477-2958 – Asian Americans Advancing Justice—Southern California’s legal help hotline
  
• 1-800-621-3362 (FEMA) – FEMA’s disaster assistance helpline

Voting for local and national leaders can also impact how wildfires and other natural disasters are handled. In spite of scientific evidence of global climate change, President Trump and his administration plan to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency. Trump has also threatened to cut federal aid to California in the wake of the devastating wildfires this year unless the state changes its policies on water, forestry, immigration, and voter ID. This potential cut would eliminate many jobs and impact vulnerable communities, such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities. In the face of these threats, elected officials can support funding for necessary research on the consequences of climate change, redlining, and accessibility, as well as their often disproportionate effect on minority communities like Vietnamese Americans. 

Community action is already in motion to fight climate change and protect impacted communities. In March, California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force announced 25 key deliverables for 2025. These deliverables prioritize community safety and include updating fire hazard severity zone maps, reducing vegetative overgrowth, and expanding the workforce to fill these jobs.