A firefighter sprays water on smoldering debris as smoke rises from the skeletal remains of a burned building.
Firefighters work to put out a fire in the rubble of a home that burned down on Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu, as a result of the Palisades Fire. Jan. 9, 2025. (Ted Soqui/CalMatters via Bay City News)

This was written by staff at the nonprofit newsroom CalMatters. It was republished by The Mendocino Voice in partnership with CalMatters to bring relevant nonpartisan news to Mendocino County readers. Learn more about CalMatters here.

SACRAMENTO, CA., 1/1/26 — Days after 2025 began, two fires scorched through Los Angeles neighborhoods, the most destructive in California’s history. The Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires also renewed attention to issues such as utility oversight, insurance coverage, and the broader challenges of wildfire planning in a changing climate. And their harms rippled outward, leaving thousands of low-income workers and immigrants without jobs.  

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Alejandra Reyes-Velarde is an environmental equity reporter from Los Angeles. Previously, Reyes-Velarde was a California Divide reporter for CalMatters specializing in social mobility, labor issues,...