“The city burning is Los Angeles’s deepest image of itself … For days one could drive the Harbor Freeway and see the city on fire, just as we had always known it would be in the end. Los Angeles weather is the weather of catastrophe, of apocalypse,” says Joan Didion in her novel “Slouching Towards Bethlehem.”

With L.A. County covered in flames since Jan. 7, Didion’s scorching characterization of L.A. feels just as — if not more — applicable today as it was when her novel was first published in 1968. 

The multiple wildfires across the county have reportedly already killed 25 people and burned down over 12,000 structures manifesting in estimated damages of over $50 billion. Of course, there are also the many damages that can’t be quantified with people losing items and property that held immense sentimental value to them. 

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The tragic consequences of the wildfires foreshadow our future living in an increasingly warming world. 2024 was Earth’s hottest year on record, and with this blazing start, 2025 could easily give last year’s heat feat a run for its money. 

While the current reality might trigger feelings of hopelessness or fear for humanity’s approaching climate-induced doom, contextualizing these wildfires within the greater issue of climate change can serve as a useful framework for progress.  

Drier, hotter conditions combined with intense Santa Ana winds were major contributing factors to the wildfires’ outbreaks. 

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Climate change, including increased heat, extended drought, and a thirsty atmosphere, has been a key driver in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the western United States during the last two decades.” 

This means that if we reduce the impacts of climate-related factors, we could also reduce the damages caused by catastrophes that occur as a result of these factors. 

Like Rome, a brighter climate future with less harmful natural disasters can’t be built in a day. However, it perhaps can be built sooner rather than later through dedication to implementing proactive climate solutions. 

Proactivity on the climate crisis should entail both decreasing harms to the environment and concurrently expanding disaster-preparedness infrastructure.   

The idea of minimizing environmental harm to mitigate climate change isn’t new. 

Scientists have studied and raised concerns about rising global temperatures since at least the late 1800s. As recently as Oct. 8, 2024, in “The 2024 state of the climate report: Perilous times on planet Earth,” scientists from Oregon State University expressed that “We are stepping into a critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis.” 

Governments have implemented some policy changes in the name of protecting the climate, like the Congress’ 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which allocated around $370 billion to green energy and other eco-friendly investments for the coming decade. However, the data suggests that climate actions taken so far haven’t done enough to address the crisis.

Accordingly, amping up climate-forward policies for green energy and against greenhouse gas emissions is crucial to preventing the realization of a near future with even more frequent and extreme disasters.  

But as we face the increasingly impossible-to-ignore ramifications of climate change, a new need is emerging: We must not only prevent a worse future but also lessen damages from destructive events occurring in the present. 

Investing more in disaster-preparedness mechanisms is crucial. With natural disasters occurring more frequently, additional resources are necessary to minimize the associated risks. 

As the extreme events that are increasing in frequency widely vary — from extreme heat to extreme rain — a new era of enhanced disaster preparedness will require a holistic approach. 

Necessary advancements should focus on expanding local fire departments’ emergency response, improving drainage systems to limit flooding damages and constructing more shelters for those affected by disasters.

Governments should invest further in scientific research to develop climate plans that are as effective as possible in light of shifting climate patterns. Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence could aid in interpreting scientific data and generating informative predictions about potential catastrophes. 

Regardless of the way specific areas choose to improve their disaster preparedness, it is safe to say that merely labeling the climate crisis a problem of the future is no longer sufficient. Governments everywhere, including in L.A., must do more to protect their citizens from climate-crisis disasters by implementing preventative solutions promptly.