What caused the Palisades Fire? Photos show New Year’s fire in same area

What caused the Palisades Fire? Photos show New Year’s Day fire in same area as the deadly LA County wildfire

Photos show both fires broke out in the same area and experts said it’s plausible the earlier fire could have led to another fire six days later.

Updated: 3:01 PM EST Jan 16, 2025

DESTROYED SO FAR. AND THIS IS VIDEO JUST INTO OUR NEWSROOM. IT SHOWS FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS ARE FOCUSING ON A SPECIFIC STREET IN THE PALISADES HIGHLANDS AREA. OFFICIALS SAY THIS IS WHERE THEY BELIEVE THE PALISADES FIRE MAY HAVE STARTED. NO OFFICIAL CAUSE OR ORIGIN FOR EITHER OF THE FIRES HAS BEEN RELEASED, BUT NOW WE ARE HEARING ONE THEORY THAT THIS COULD BE A REKINDLING OF A FIRE THAT STARTED BY FIREWORKS ON NEW YEAR’S DAY, AND THIS IS A PHOTO FROM THAT EARLY MORNING FIRE ON JANUARY 1ST. AND THE MAN WHO TOOK IT, 78 YEAR OLD DON GRIFFIN, SAYS THIS IS FROM HIS BACKYARD IN PACIFIC PALISADES. RESIDENTS CALLED 911 ABOUT REPORTS OF FIREWORKS, AND FIREFIGHTERS GOT THAT FIRE UNDER CONTROL. AND THEN THIS IS A PHOTO FROM THAT SAME MAN ON THE DAY OF THE PALISADES FIRE. THOSE FLAMES IGNITING AND PRETTY MUCH WHAT LOOKS LIKE THE EXACT SAME SPOT. ONE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE JOURNALIST SHOWED THE PHOTOS TO A PAIR OF EXPERTS IN WILDFIRE INVESTIGATION, WHO SAY WINDS COULD HAVE REKINDLED THOSE SMOLDERING EMBERS, EVEN SIX DAYS LATER. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM THAT REPORTER NOW. MATTHIAS GAFFNEY, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. SO, MATHIAS, YOU SPOKE WITH THE MAN BEHIND THAT PHOTO WHEN YOU FIRST SAW IT, WHAT DID YOU THINK? YEAH, I CAME ACROSS IT. AND I’LL NEVER FORGET IT. HIS HOUSE WAS STILL STANDING AND HE TOLD ME, YOU KNOW, IT STARTED THE BIG PALISADES FIRE STARTED RIGHT IN THE SAME SPOT AS ONE ON NEW YEAR’S. AND I THOUGHT HE MEANT NEW YEAR’S A YEAR AGO. AND HE SAID NO, JUST A FEW DAYS AGO. SO HE WHIPPED HIS PHONE OUT AND HE SHOWED ME BOTH PHOTOS. AND YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE IN THE TERRAIN THE SIMILAR FEATURES. AND IT WAS ALMOST OVERLAPPING THE TWO FIRES. SO IMMEDIATELY I KNEW THAT THERE MAY BE SOMETHING MORE TO THE ORIGIN OF THE FIRE. NOW, WHEN YOU TALK TO DON GRIFFIN ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE, WAS THERE ANYTHING SURPRISING BEHIND HIS STORY? NO, HE IT WAS. THE PHOTOS ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE HE TOOK IT FROM THE EXACT SAME VANTAGE POINT, HIS BACKYARD. SO YOU HAD IT WASN’T FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES. SO YOU COULD CLEARLY TELL WHERE THEY HAD STARTED. ONCE WE LOOKED INTO THE FIRST FIRE, IT WAS ONLY LIKE A NINE ACRE FIRE, BUT IT WAS SURROUNDED BY REPORTS AND 911 CALLS OF FIREWORKS. SO EVERYTHING HE HAD SAID MATCHED UP AND HIS PHOTO OF THE PALISADES FIRE JANUARY 7TH, ONE WAS TAKEN ONE MINUTE AFTER THE FIRE STARTED, SO WE KNEW WE HAD BOTH FIRES AT THEIR VERY BEGINNING, AND IT WAS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. PHOTOS, VERY IMPORTANT PHOTOS. AND YOU WENT TO THE EXPERTS ON THIS. WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM THE EXPERTS AND WHAT SHOULD PEOPLE KNOW, ESPECIALLY ABOUT EMBERS AND HOW LONG THEY CAN STAY ACTIVE? YEAH, TO BE HONEST, I WAS SURPRISED I DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO STORY BECAUSE JANUARY 1ST TO JANUARY 7TH IS SIX DAYS. I’M NOT A FIRE EXPERT. FOR ME, THAT FELT LIKE A LONG TIME FOR A FIRE TO BE SMOLDERING, ESPECIALLY SINCE FIREFIGHTERS SPENT A GOOD PORTION OF THE DAY THERE WETTING IT DOWN. THAT BEING SAID, WHEN I SPOKE TO THE EXPERTS, THEY SAID ABSOLUTELY NOT. SIX DAYS IS NOTHING IN THOSE CONDITIONS WHERE IT’S SUPER DRY, DEAD VEGETATION. THE SOIL IS CRUSTED SO HARD THAT WATER HAS TROUBLE PENETRATING IT. AND EVEN SO, THE FIRE GOES INTO THE ROOTS OF THIS DEAD VEGETATION AND SMOLDERS AS AS LOW AS A FOOT BELOW THE SURFACE. SO TO FULLY GET THAT FIRE COLD IS INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT, ESPECIALLY ON STEEP TERRAIN LIKE THAT. AND THEY SAID IT WAS INCREDIBLY PLAUSIBLE THAT IT COULD START EVEN SIX DAYS LATER. I’M JUST CURIOUS, HOW IS DON GRIFFIN RIGHT NOW? WHAT’S HIS EXPERIENCE BEEN LIKE SO FAR? YEAH, HE WAS ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES. HIS HOUSE SURVIVED, ACTUALLY, HIS WHOLE CUL DE SAC FARED PRETTY WELL. THE FIRE CAME. HE HAD INCREDIBLY INTENSE VIDEO OF HIM AND HIS FAMILY AS EMBERS WERE SHOOTING INTO THEIR BACKYARD. AS THE FIRE CREPT UP A VERY STEEP HILL BEHIND HIS STREET. BUT HIS STREET FARED OKAY. HE’S, YOU KNOW, NOT DOING GREAT AS FAR AS LIKE MOST OF HIS NEIGHBORHOOD BELOW HIM, THESE ARE DAMAGED OR THEY LOST THEIR HOMES. BUT HE’S JUST LIKE EVERYONE. EVERYONE’S STILL KIND OF IN A STATE OF SHOCK. AND THOSE NEIGHBORS PARTICULARLY WANT TO HAVE ANSWERS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED THERE. YEAH. AND I DON’T KNOW IF YOU HEARD, MATHIAS THAT THEY ARE NOW. WE JUST GOT VIDEO IN OF THEM. IT LOOKED LIKE IT’S NEAR A VERY PARTICULAR STREET IN PACIFIC PALISADES. BUT THE VIDEO WE HAVE LOOKED LIKE THEY MIGHT BE ON SOME SIDE OF A HILLSIDE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO, I MEAN, IT’S HARD TO TELL BECAUSE THERE’S JUST ASH EVERYWHERE. BUT YEAH, THERE’S THEY’RE DEFINITELY LOOKING INTO IT. AND THOSE PICTURES MAY PROVE TO BE VITAL. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REPORTING AND INVESTIGATING ON THIS. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME. WE APPRECIATE IT. NOW, AT A FIRE BRIEFING EARLIER TODAY, THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT ADDRESSED THE QUESTIONS SURROUNDING THE ORIGIN OF THE PALISADES FIRE. RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE THE TASK FORCE THAT IS ROBUST, THAT IS THERE IDENTIFYING CAUSE AND ORIGIN FOR EACH OF THESE SEPARATE FIRES. THERE’S SO MANY OF THEM THERE. NONE HAVE BEEN RULED OUT OF ARSON. THERE ARE ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS, BUT ALSO THE PALISADES FIRE SPECIFICALLY, SINCE THAT’S THE ONE THAT’S STILL RAMPANT IN THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES. THERE’S BEEN NO DEFINITIVE DETERMINATION THAT IT IS ARSON AT THIS POINT. NO WORD O

What caused the Palisades Fire? Photos show New Year’s Day fire in same area as the deadly LA County wildfire

Photos show both fires broke out in the same area and experts said it’s plausible the earlier fire could have led to another fire six days later.

Updated: 3:01 PM EST Jan 16, 2025

Six days before the Palisades Fire, another fire broke out on the same hillside where the Los Angeles County wildfire is believed to have sparked.The San Francisco Chronicle obtained a photo of the first fire, which started early on New Year’s Day. Don Griffin took the photo from his backyard in Pacific Palisades. Residents called 911 about reports of fireworks, and firefighters got the fire under control. Griffin took another photo on Jan. 7 from the same vantage point, just one minute after the Palisades Fire sparked. It showed flames igniting in the same area.“His house was still standing and he told me the big Palisades Fire started right in the same spot as one in New Year’s,” San Francisco Chronicle reporter Matthias Gafni told sister station KCRA. “And I thought he meant New Year’s a year ago. And he said no, ‘just a few days ago.’ You could clearly see in the terrain the similar features and it was almost overlapping between the two fires.” The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is leading the investigation into the cause of the Palisades Fire. A spokesperson told the San Francisco Chronicle it was “way too early to make any determinations.”Gafni showed Griffin’s photos to two experts in wildfire investigations, who said it’s possible severe winds could have rekindled smoldering embers from the earlier blaze and kick-started the deadly fire, even six days later. “To be honest I was surprised. I didn’t know I had a story because January first to January seventh is six days,” Gafni said. “I’m not a fire expert. For me, that felt like a long time for a fire to be smoldering, especially since firefighters spent a good portion of the day there wetting it down.” But he said the experts he spoke to said, “Absolutely not, six days is nothing.”The conditions on the hillside were “super dry” with dead vegetation and where “the soil is crusted so hard that water has trouble penetrating it.” “And even so, the fire goes into the roots of this dead vegetation and smolders as low as a foot below the surface,” Gafni said. “So to fully get that fire cold is incredibly difficult, especially on steep terrain like that. They said it was incredibly plausible that it could start even six days later.” On Monday, federal investigators were in the area where the Palisades Fire started. NBC News cited sources in reporting that the early part of the investigation has authorities looking at a potential human cause to the start of the fire. But the sources stressed this is very early in the investigation, and no conclusions have been reached.Read Gafni’s full report on the San Francisco Chronicle’s website here. PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGEpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWEuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciBlPWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgdCBpbiBhLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8ZS5sZW5ndGg7cisrKWlmKGVbcl0uY29udGVudFdpbmRvdz09PWEuc291cmNlKXt2YXIgaT1hLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW3RdKyJweCI7ZVtyXS5zdHlsZS5oZWlnaHQ9aX19fSkpfSgpOwo8L3NjcmlwdD4=

Six days before the Palisades Fire, another fire broke out on the same hillside where the Los Angeles County wildfire is believed to have sparked.

The San Francisco Chronicle obtained a photo of the first fire, which started early on New Year’s Day. Don Griffin took the photo from his backyard in Pacific Palisades. Residents called 911 about reports of fireworks, and firefighters got the fire under control.

Griffin took another photo on Jan. 7 from the same vantage point, just one minute after the Palisades Fire sparked. It showed flames igniting in the same area.

“His [Griffin’s] house was still standing and he told me the big Palisades Fire started right in the same spot as one in New Year’s,” San Francisco Chronicle reporter Matthias Gafni told sister station KCRA. “And I thought he meant New Year’s a year ago. And he said no, ‘just a few days ago.’ You could clearly see in the terrain the similar features and it was almost overlapping between the two fires.”

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is leading the investigation into the cause of the Palisades Fire. A spokesperson told the San Francisco Chronicle it was “way too early to make any determinations.”

Gafni showed Griffin’s photos to two experts in wildfire investigations, who said it’s possible severe winds could have rekindled smoldering embers from the earlier blaze and kick-started the deadly fire, even six days later.

“To be honest I was surprised. I didn’t know I had a story because January first to January seventh is six days,” Gafni said. “I’m not a fire expert. For me, that felt like a long time for a fire to be smoldering, especially since firefighters spent a good portion of the day there wetting it down.”

But he said the experts he spoke to said, “Absolutely not, six days is nothing.”

The conditions on the hillside were “super dry” with dead vegetation and where “the soil is crusted so hard that water has trouble penetrating it.”

“And even so, the fire goes into the roots of this dead vegetation and smolders as low as a foot below the surface,” Gafni said. “So to fully get that fire cold is incredibly difficult, especially on steep terrain like that. They said it was incredibly plausible that it could start even six days later.”

On Monday, federal investigators were in the area where the Palisades Fire started. NBC News cited sources in reporting that the early part of the investigation has authorities looking at a potential human cause to the start of the fire. But the sources stressed this is very early in the investigation, and no conclusions have been reached.

Read Gafni’s full report on the San Francisco Chronicle’s website here.