RECAP: The Ongoing Climate Crisis and Human Behavior in Southern California

Published January 16, 2025.

Photo of a mixture of smoke and clouds rises from the Mount Wilson area above Pasadena High School two days after the Eaton Fire by author (GoPro Hero 11 Black).

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By Zachary Ellison, Independent Journalist

Starting at the end of 2023 into 2024, I’ve written increasingly about the climate crisis in Southern California, and most particularly in regards to the San Gabriel Mountains. The picturesque backdrop to the Los Angeles Basin, and to much of my mouth, as an adult, I’ve become an increasingly avid outdoorsman as well as whistleblower journalist. As a graduate of arguably one of the best public policy schools in the country, the University of Southern California's (USC) Sol Price School of Public Policy, I completed, in addition to a Master’s in Public Administration, a companion Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Policy and Planning. Before that, I worked in both state and local parks here in California and Hawaii. My research tended to focus on very applied subjects, not the least including wildfires and economics, in addition to more standard, trendy issues like coastal policy and planning or renewable energy.

I didn’t have a science background, and this was a career killer in the field because largely positions are created in climate-focused organizations for those with science backgrounds instead of one’s like mine in history and government. So even as we warned of the dangers of a science-policy divide, my experience is that so many are afraid of deeper discussions, instead preferring to create what amounts to a technocracy. Surprisingly to many, California is not actually the center of the wildfire world, despite having a population that outnumbers many other Western states combined. The great ongoing public debate about the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire, which have now displaced many thousands, leveling entire neighborhoods at the periphery of the Los Angeles Basins, was entirely predictable. Disasters provoke discussion and a whole lot of finger pointing, but my great fear is that we will learn nothing about how to make this technocracy, a society ruled by technical experts, work better for us in practical, hands-on terms.

Indeed, the critics of climate change, which is very much science rather than pure theory, have almost immediately sought to discount this explanation. I wouldn’t be so quick to do so; clearly we have to keep trying to do much more to mitigate increasing global temperatures that create dangerously oscillating and more extreme weather patterns. Additionally, many were shocked by the destruction of an idealized Pacific Palisades and Altadena, perfectly noble examples of suburban lifestyles, to the point of being unwilling to consider significant adaptation strategies. California Building Code 7A will require those with destroyed structures who seek to rebuild to employ fire-resistant strategies in reconstruction. To do anything less would be a disservice, so while these neighborhoods will undoubtedly be rebuilt, they won’t look and feel exactly the same as before, and for good reason. These deadly incidents have now claimed at least 25 lives, with others still missing, perhaps into the dozens. Predominantly, the dead are older people who did not leave their homes even amidst an exodus and those who stayed to try and fight the fires.

Unlike in Paradise, California, where many died trying to flee and were in turn trapped, or in Lahaina, Hawaii, where wind-driven fire moved so fast it was practically inescapable in these two disasters, there was at least some time. More has to be done to assure that those who are most at risk, including the disabled who live in high-risk zones, have more planning done to prepare for evacuation. My series started with the Angeles Crest Highway (State Route 2), which forms the backbone of the transit network through the San Gabriel Mountains, but increasingly it moved down to the highly-populated front-face and to other areas last August where the Line Fire, Bridge Fire, and Airport Fire struck with devastating effect. Most people have already somewhat forgotten those episodes, which, despite occurring only months ago, damaged Mount Baldy Village, Wrightwood, and El Cariso in the Santa Ana Mountains.

The infamous Santa Ana Winds made a vicious return after an incredibly dry autumn and early winter following two wet winters that field extensive overgrowth. Watching the Eaton Fire burn with explosive power, I have to admit to having seen and heard very little discussion of extensive mitigation through aggressive brush clearance. Altadena doesn’t employ grazing by goats as is done in Rancho Palos Verdes and Laguna Beach, a popular occasion, but perhaps it should, nor were any controlled burns done. At least one writer, a politician, is now suggesting that crews should have been sent out following the National Weather Service’s abundantly clear warning about the January 7 windstorm. It would have taken an army, one that frankly isn’t assembled with so much of this hard work left to crews of incarcerated prisoners, languishing civilian conservation corps, and underpaid wildland firefighters. So even as the Los Angeles Times is now working overtime to dissect the Los Angeles Fire Departments deployment in advance of the Palisades Fire, this topic hasn’t been much touched upon in any great depth.

Another great option is training additional civilians in how to dual-purpose as firefighters. While there are no guarantees, often one of the most effective ways to counter wildfire is not water but more fire. Setting timely backfires that deny a blaze vegetation is often the best way to control such blazes, even when wind-driven. The embers that took down so many structures started only from vegetation at the perimeters of these suburban areas to ignite the initial wave of structures, which in turn spread to the remainder. Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) have become increasingly popular in some organizations; USC even had such a program, but they aren’t ubiquitous like they should be. The modern fire hydrant system isn’t designed to fight wildfires, but instead it’s goal is to put out structure fires on a limited basis.

Climate change isn’t stopping, and as regrowth occurs in spurts, these areas will again face danger just as many finish rebuilding. Will lessons be learned? While investigations have been launched into the causes of both the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire and into water availability in the former, no larger review has been launched even as the blame game plays out. No matter what, the cost of embracing adaptation and mitigation strategies is going to be cheaper and ultimately safer than the cost of reconstruction. Our society faces many challenges in these arenas; how we respond is our choice. Personally, I stand ready to discuss these issues fully and comprehensively, to date having received only a single invitation. To win this information fight, we have to embrace change rather than just defensiveness, and we need more voices.

We can all be Champions! Or we can again miss this opportunity for meaningful conversation stuck in a political-social morass at an increasingly greater economic cost. It’s often said that we’ve crossed a climate change tipping point, but how we handle that matters. Denying the science and the significance of this moment will only force us to repeat our past mistakes. The unprofessional and self-serving dismissal of climate activism has to stop, and we have to continue to expand the scale and scope of our response to make science more powerful while renewing our efforts to translate it into meaningful and actionable policy recommendations.

My beloved Angeles Crest Highway didn’t burn this time as it did last August, but instead we were forced out of our home in Altadena, grateful to find it still standing the morning after as fires burnt down to within less than half a mile away. For those returning to these areas, I’ll hope that extra precautions are taken for safety and that debris removal is conducted prudently. Most importantly, we aren’t out of fire season yet, and starting mitigation and adaptation now is wise. So if you were waiting to start home fireproofing or climate planning, now’s the time, Southern California and beyond.

Link: Part 58: Champions of Angeles Crest Highway – Stories from the Racetrack

Link: Part 59: A New Year’s Day Angeles Crest Highway Story – Should the Racetrack Be Saved?

Link: Part 73: Life on Angeles Crest Highway – Natural Power and Unprepared Human Psychology

Link: Part 103: Power and Danger in the San Gabriels – Summer on the Unconquerable Mountain Range

Link: Part 113: The Great Heat Wave of Los Angeles – Human Desperation and Climate Catastrophe

Link: Part 119: Land Battles and Influence in California – People Power and Civilization Failures

Link: Part 148: A New Year in the San Gabriels – From Angeles Crest Highway to Eternity

Link: Part 150: A Firestorm in Los Angeles – Humanity and Environmental Disaster

Please support my work with your subscription, or for direct support, use Venmo, CashApp, PayPal, or Zelle using zachary.b.ellison@gmail.com

Zachary Ellison is an Independent Journalist and Whistleblower in the Los Angeles area. Zach was most recently employed by the University of Southern California, Office of the Provost, from October 2015 to August 2022 as an Executive Secretary and Administrative Assistant, supporting the Vice Provost for Academic Operations and the Vice Provost and Senior Advisor to the Provost, among others. Zach holds a Master’s in Public Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Policy and Planning from the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. While a student at USC, he worked for the USC Good Neighbors Campaign, including on their university-wide newsletter. Zach completed his B.A. in History at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and was a writer, editor, and photographer for the Pasadena High School Chronicle. He was Barack Obama’s one-millionth online campaign contributor in 2008. Zach is a former AmeriCorps intern for Hawaii State Parks and worked for the City of Manhattan Beach Parks and Recreation. He is a trained civil process server and enjoys weekends in the outdoors. Zach is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club.