California remains under a state of alarm. The episode of fires that has hit the state, causing the death of 25 people and losses of 150 billion dollars, It is not completely closed, but it is already considered one of the most serious disasters in the recent history of the state.
It shares factors such as dry weather and episodes of strong winds with other forest fires, but does this alone explain the dramatic images that have gone around the world? For Robert York, co-director of the Forestry Department at the University of Berkeley (California), it is “a combination of climate, topography (steep slopes) and fuel (dry vegetation). And in this particular case the wind, which has been the most determining factor. The so-called Santa Ana or “devil’s” winds are common events in this area. Dry air that flows downhill at high speed and that in some points exceeded 150 km/h The flames spread quickly, making the work of the firefighters difficult, who also found themselves having to fight five outbreaks at the same time. «This year it had been predicted that there could be between nine and 11 Santa Ana days and the forecast is more or less being met. In addition, one of the fires, the Palisade fire, started just as one of these wind episodes began. On the other hand, this year the influence of El Niño is noticeable; The winter has been extremely dry. During the previous months it rained, which made the grass grow, which then dried, becoming fuel for the fire. Once the fire starts, if the winds blow at the speeds that have been recorded, extinction is very difficult,” says Javier Ramírez, president of the Technosylva company, who works for the California government in fire prevention.
The configuration of the terrain, “very similar to that of the Mediterranean coast, with large unevenness in the terrain, high heights and ravines, makes the winds reach even greater speed. Urbanization has also been targeted and many of the affected buildings are located in a transition zone towards a forest area. If there are also several outbreaks, the work of the firefighters goes from controlling the forest fire to a matter of civil protection, such as the protection of houses,” also points out Rut Doménech, researcher at the Pau Costa Foundation and coordinator of the California Prescribed Burn Monitoring. This program started in 2019 and includes the University of California and the State Firefighters (Calfire). The objective of the project is to “reintroduce fire into these ecosystems, chaparral or low bush and coniferous forests, as a preventive measure, so that they are more resilient. It is a forest management measure with which we want to reach around 280,000 hectares by 2025,” comments the technician. And one of the reasons pointed out as the cause of so much virulence is precisely the lack of forest management. «When the white man arrived, about 150 years ago, the fire was eliminated. The American Indian previously carried out prescribed burning, but the European established a policy of total exclusion of fire and that’s when the problems began because the “fuel” began to grow. That is when high-intensity fires originate, for which the forest is not adapted,” Doménech continues.
A forest management that should also be carried out in Spain, those consulted recall, where there has been a great abandonment of the countryside. In fact, a study published this week by the Center for Ecological Research and Forest Applications (CREAF) points to the need to rrecover the agricultural belts. In the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona it could decrease by 30% fire connectivity in the event of a fire.
In addition to bringing houses closer to forest areas, the construction of wooden houses, traditional in the United States, It hasn’t helped either. «In the United States a lot is built with wood because it is fast, cheap, efficient and the buildings have good resistance to earthquakes. In addition, with appropriate treatments they can be fireproof. In 2007 there was a very devastating fire in Southern California and a construction standard was created that requires certain treatments for wooden houses to prevent them from burning as easily as we have seen. The problem is that almost all of those that have been destroyed are before this date; The ones we are seeing burned are from the 50s and 60s and are located in the growing area of Los Angeles. But, in addition to the house, the owners build sheds, barbecue areas… then they have plants and they are species to provide shade or decorate,” explains Javier Ramírez, who has also lived in San Diego for years.
It has also attracted media attention that some species of trees remained standing after the passage of the flames, while the houses appeared charred. Well, as Robert York explains from Berkeley: «Trees can be relatively resistant to fire. Many of them have adapted to resist fire and have thick bark and tough foliage. “Internal humidity can be high even after a dry period because they have access to deep water.”
Pyrocene
There are already studies that link the event with climate change. The international research group Climameter published a study this week in which they conclude that “weather conditions similar to those that triggered “California wildfires in January 2025 are 5°C warmer, 3 mm/day (up to 15%) drier and up to 5 km/h (up to 20%) than in the past.” For some media, these fires are reminiscent of the great fires suffered in Canada or Alaska and signal a new age in the relationship between man and fire, the era of the pyrocene or overflowing fire. «Climate change affects Southern California differently, where we have more and more extreme wind events and drier autumns. While in the north of the state other problems occur, such as the proliferation of pests in coniferous forests. These pests are expanding and weakening the trees so much that when a fire breaks out they are defenseless and burn without control,” Ramírez clarifies.
Insurance companies leave the state
In the state of California, insurers such as State Farm have stopped offering home insurance due to the increasing risk of extreme events. «There have been many destructive fires in recent years, for example in 2018 (Camp Fire), 2020 (August Complex Fire caused by lightning) or 2021 (Dixie Fire). In 2020 there were up to 600 lightning events. It is still not known what the origin of these fires was, although experience tells us that it is usually anthropogenic. In any case, the important thing is that insurers often do not know how to calculate the real risks and their costs,” explains Javier Ramírez, who works with his company to help define these risks.