Southern California saw its first significant rainfall in weeks on January 26, 2025, bringing much-needed relief from wildfires but also triggering flash floods and debris flows across Los Angeles County.
Southern California is bracing for a weekend storm that could cause flash flooding and landslides in areas scarred by January’s wildfires, with rain and snow expected to bring relief but also new risks.
The Hughes Fire erupted on January 22, 2025, near Castaic Lake in northern Los Angeles County, tearing through more than 4 047 ha (10 000 acres) in just hours and triggering evacuation orders or warnings for over 54 000 residents. With no lightning strikes reported, investigators are expected to focus on potential human-related causes. Adding to concerns, unconfirmed reports suggest two individuals were spotted near the fire’s point of origin, though authorities have not yet addressed whether arson is suspected.
Catastrophic wildfires fueled by powerful Santa Ana winds have been sweeping through Southern California since Tuesday, January 8, 2025, killing at least 24 people, displacing over 200 000 residents, and destroying more than 12 000 homes and buildings. In addition, more than 360 000 customers, or just over 1 million people in California were left without power.
The Franklin Fire has rapidly engulfed 1 233 ha (3 049 acres) in Malibu, California since its start late Monday night, December 9, 2024, prompting mandatory evacuations for thousands and leaving firefighters battling zero containment as of Tuesday morning, December 10, 2024. The blaze is currently threatening around 18 000 citizens along with over 8 000 structures. Authorities are urging the public to stay away from the Malibu area at all costs.
A rapidly spreading Franklin Fire broke out on Monday night (LT), December 9, 2024, near Malibu Canyon Road, California amid a Red Flag Warning and severe Santa Ana winds, placing nearby residents on urgent mandatory evacuation.
Researchers have developed a new machine learning and neural network model with a detailed feature matrix to improve earthquake prediction accuracy in Los Angeles, achieving a 97.97% success rate.
A shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M4.4 hit near Highland Park and South Pasadena, Los Angeles, California at 19:20 UTC (12:20 local time) on August 12, 2024. The agency is reporting a depth of 11 km (6.8 miles).
An early-morning landslide on March 13, 2023, caused significant damage to a house under construction and posed a threat to several other homes in the 3700 block of North Ventura Canyon Avenue, Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Fire Department reported no injuries, and several residents were evacuated as a precaution. The landslide led to the red-tagging of at least one building and prompted the deployment of LAFD Drone Operators to assess the situation further.
A swarm of earthquakes rattled the Los Angeles area in California early Monday, April 5, 2021, following an M4.0 earthquake 2 km (1.2 miles) east of Lennox. The USGS received more than 7 400 'I felt it' reports. The Lennox quake was 19.9 km (12.4 miles) deep…
