In January 2025, wildfires devastated Los Angeles neighborhoods and wildland alike. Scientists are contending with their lasting effects on air, land, and water.
Los Angeles
Posted inFeatures
When Disaster Science Strikes Close to Home
How have scientists across Los Angeles used their skills to help their communities recover from the 2025 fires?
Posted inFeatures
Where There’s Fire, There’s Smoke
Using both existing and newly launched monitoring instruments, researchers work to better understand air quality during and after the Los Angeles wildfires.
Posted inFeatures
Burning Urban and Wild Land Alike
When more densely populated Altadena and Pacific Palisades burned along with surrounding wildlands, hazards for residents didn’t stop when the fires were contained.
Posted inNews
Pollution from Wildfires Can Contaminate Our Water for up to 8 Years, Study Finds
An analysis of 500 watersheds found levels of organic carbon, phosphorus, and other pollutants up to 103 times higher after a wildfire.
Posted inNews
Seismometers Provide Fuller Picture of Los Angeles Groundwater
A new method to evaluate deep aquifers shows even torrential rains haven’t fully replenished groundwater beneath Los Angeles.
Posted inNews
How Much Did Climate Change Affect the Los Angeles Wildfires?
High heat, dry fuel, and strong winds drove the Palisades and Eaton blazes.
Posted inNews
Jet Propulsion Laboratory Reopens as Fire Recovery Continues
Many JPL staff, including its director, are still displaced or without homes after devastating fires throughout the LA region.
Posted inNews
Seismometers Track Atmospheric Shock Waves from Incoming Space Debris
A Chinese spacecraft that burned up high over Los Angeles created a sonic trail detected by ground-based sensors.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Imaging Below the Surface Reveals One of Los Angeles’s Webs of Faults
Damage zones extend to either side of many faults and can affect how future earthquakes behave.