The Los Angeles fires: is climate change a scapegoat for poor policy?

‍Editor’s note: This opinion editorial was originally published in De Standaard in January 2025. This version has been translated into English.‍

For decades, California has suppressed natural fires, transforming its landscapes into a dangerously overgrown tinderbox, writes Nadina Galle. With the right combination of technology and policy, there may still be a way forward.

Watch Duty, a wildfire-tracking app, has become a lifeline for Californians, topping the App Store with over 2 million downloads since January 7th. That day, four wildfires threatened Los Angeles—months after the traditional end of California’s fire season. Now, millions of residents at risk share the frustration of the app’s creators: "Not again. Not in January. Enough is enough."

These fires have been raging for over a week, destroying an area larger than San Francisco, fueled by the Santa Ana winds—strong, dry gusts that sweep through California when high-pressure systems push cold air from inland valleys toward the coast. So far, 25 people have died, more than 12,000 buildings have been destroyed, and 150,000 people have been forced to evacuate—often with little time to gather their most precious belongings.

This is California’s new reality. As Gus Boston, the fire chief who oversaw the 2018 Camp Fire—the deadliest wildfire in the state’s history—once told me: "There is no longer a fire season; there is only fire."

How Did We Get Here?

California was never designed to support such a large population. Its stunning landscapes disguise a fundamental scarcity of resources. Rainfall is minimal—virtually nonexistent in some regions. Yet despite this, a water-intensive lifestyle has been sustained through groundwater pumping, river diversions, and even ocean desalination.

But water shortages are only one part of the crisis. Fire itself has long been an integral part of California’s ecosystems. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, fire is not merely destructive—it is essential. Naturally occurring fires clear out weaker vegetation, creating space for resilient species. This ecological process has defined California’s landscapes for millennia.

Tree species like the Sargent cypress and Lodgepole pine depend on fire to reproduce—their seeds are activated by the intense heat of flames. When fires occur naturally, they thin out overgrowth, remove diseased trees, and stimulate new growth. These fires are not catastrophic; they are regenerative, maintaining balance and vitality.

But modern California is far from balanced. Natural fires were suppressed to protect growing communities, turning the state into a powder keg. Today, fires burn hotter, faster, and more destructively. What should be healthy, self-regulating fire cycles have transformed into unstoppable infernos. The fires in Los Angeles are no exception—they are the result of a system that has exceeded its limits.

A Path Forward

To address the wildfire crisis, we must reclaim the ancient wisdom we have forgotten and pair it with cutting-edge technology designed for modern landscapes.

For thousands of years, Indigenous tribes like the Hoopa managed California’s ecological balance through controlled burns. These intentional fires reduced undergrowth, prevented forests from becoming too dense, and minimized the risk of the catastrophic wildfires that now threaten cities like Los Angeles.

Indigenous fire management is based on a deep understanding of how natural systems work. Through small, controlled burns under safe conditions, they prevented massive, uncontrollable wildfires and kept forests healthy.

Today, controlled burns are difficult to implement due to regulatory barriers, community resistance (often from those traumatized by wildfire smoke), and unpredictable weather conditions. The result? A dangerous buildup of dry, highly flammable material that fuels increasingly intense fires.

This is where innovation meets tradition. Enter BurnBot, a breakthrough technology developed by "pyro-physicist" Waleed Haddad and computer scientist Anukool Lakhina. BurnBot is a remotely operated machine designed to conduct controlled burns safely and at scale. Equipped with high-temperature torches, a fire management system, and smoke-capturing technology, BurnBot tackles the biggest challenges of controlled burns: labor intensity, air quality concerns, and weather unpredictability.

BurnBot's design allows for controlled burns year-round, eliminating the dry fuel that feeds megafires. Unlike manual burns, BurnBot’s enclosed fire chamber keeps flames contained, prevents fires from escaping, and minimizes smoke pollution.

In one test, Lakhina’s team burned his entire backyard in downtown San Jose—without his neighbors noticing. Technologies like BurnBot could play a crucial role in wildfire management, safeguarding urban areas while enabling large-scale controlled burns to restore natural fire cycles in California’s undeveloped regions.

The Legacy of Smokey Bear

California’s forests are unnaturally dense today—a consequence of policies that suppressed fires and ignored the land’s natural rhythms. Healthy forests are not endless rows of densely packed trees; they are mosaics of trees interspersed with open meadows, shaped by frequent, low-intensity fires.

This balance was disrupted by well-meaning but misguided campaigns like Smokey Bear, an American icon that romanticized thick wilderness and vilified natural fires. As a result, communities now find themselves surrounded by highly flammable landscapes.

That policy failure has been partly overshadowed by the dominant climate change narrative. It is an uncomfortable truth: for years, climate change has been the perfect scapegoat for California’s wildfires. This allowed policymakers to deflect responsibility for decades of mismanagement. While drier, warmer conditions can intensify fires, it is the overgrown forests and fuel-rich landscapes that make them so devastating.

Technology alone will not solve this problem. California must fundamentally rethink its relationship with fire, water, and ecosystems. If West Coast communities hope to survive the wildfires unleashed by centuries of fire suppression, they need policies that not only embrace new tools but also prioritize ecosystem health and integrate Indigenous fire management practices.

The future of California depends on the choices we make today. Will we continue to react only when disaster strikes, or will we take proactive steps to design a more resilient future?

The question is not whether California will burn—it is how we choose to manage these inevitable fires.