Joe Hart

I have only ever visited the Pacific Palisades twice in my life. The first time was in January 2025, at the height of the devastating wildfires that spread across parts of southern California. The second time was recently, 12 months later, where I found myself walking through the neighbourhood collecting research data so we could continue learning from this once-in-a-lifetime fire event.

The fires are often now referred to as the Palisades fires. This is not an incorrect description of one particular fire that started in Temescal Canyon and, carried by the Santa Ana winds, spread at an incredible rate through the Palisades and towards the Pacific Ocean. Several other fires also raged during this time – notably the Eaton, the Hurst and the Sunset fires – and the latter are the purpose of my current research field trip. In between long days of trekking the canyons and mapping different terrain and vegetation, I am glad to have found half a day for a trip over to the Pacific Palisades to see how the area is rebuilding 12 months on.

The fire in the Palisades burned almost 25,000 acres and destroyed more than 6,000 structures. On January 2025, winds rekindled a previous wildfire (the Lachman fire) in Temescal Canyon, just north of the Palisades. It is believed that the Lachman Fire left underground tree roots smouldering, undetected for days after the fire was extinguished, and when the Santa Ana winds removed the top layer of loose ground, the fires were re-ignited and carried down the canyon.

FIRE Magazine

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