LA Wildfire Warnings - The Necessity of Clear, Timely Crisis Communication

In January, the combination of dry weather and strong Santa Ana winds turned vast areas of the greater Los Angeles area into a tinderbox just waiting to be sparked. While it would be nice to think this is a once-in-a-lifetime situation, it’s not. Climate change is turning rare weather events and disasters into everyday occurrences, posing increased risks to communities and the environment. Sudden and unexpected events, like wildfires, leave communities incredibly vulnerable. A slight change in wind direction or speed can mean thousands of people are moved into the danger zone with little or no warning. For this reason, precise and timely communications are crucial during natural disasters to minimize damage and save lives. 

A Snapshot of the LA Fires

Since January 7, 2025, metropolitan Los Angeles has experienced 31 wildfires, the largest being the Palisades and Eaton fires, which remain active as of January 20. So far, the total area burned by the Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst fires is about 60 square miles, an area larger than Paris. If the actual fires weren’t enough, widespread misinformation posted online created confusion among residents. It became such a problem that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the governor of California, and local officials had to spend valuable time and resources to dispel rumors and untruths. Lessons learned are an integral part of any post-disaster analysis. These fires emphasize the critical importance of effective and accurate communication to ensure everyone’s safety and awareness during emergencies. 

The Growing Threat of Wildfires

In 2024, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported that 61,685 fires burned 8,851,142 acres, marking the seventh-highest total in the past 25 years. 

As climate change increasingly threatens our planet, hotter temperatures will inevitably lead to drier conditions and more wildfires. Climate scientists in Canada have warned that a one-degree rise in temperature would lead to a 12% increase in lightning, which causes 45% of all forest fires in the country. There are also emerging challenges as cities expand and claim previously wild areas. Historically, wildfires have impacted forested, relatively remote areas, but today, large urban areas are vulnerable because they’ve encroached on these natural areas. This creates new difficulties for firefighters as citizens, and their communities are at risk more than ever before. 

According to the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, the damages caused by wildfires are estimated to cost between $400-900 billion annually. With so much at risk, it’s critical to equip firefighters, first responders, and service providers with the most advanced technology, including communication systems.

Communication Challenges During Wildfires

Wildfires present unpredictable challenges, particularly in communication, which can significantly impact emergency response and public safety. Here are some key communication challenges associated with wildfires.

Rapidly Changing Conditions

Wildfire conditions can turn on a dime, spreading rapidly and erratically, complicating efforts to deliver timely and accurate updates to the public and emergency responders. A CBC article highlighted the communication challenges during the 2023 Alberta wildfires. Crisis communicators work in a dynamic environment where they frequently encounter information gaps and conflicting messages from different sources. While it’s difficult to get a group of experts to agree on something, they unanimously agree on the many obstacles to delivering accurate information due to the unpredictable nature of the fires and the physical constraints they impose. The high-stress jobs of crisis responders, often involving long hours, are further complicated by the difficulty of delivering effective communication amidst rapidly changing conditions.

Language Barriers

Anyone who lives in the United States or Canada knows that our multicultural societies mean that not everyone speaks the same language. That makes communicating effectively with a large portion of the population incredibly difficult because communication is only helpful if people understand it. When natural disasters like wildfires and hurricanes strike, non-English speakers are at greater risk because they may not understand critical communications issued by government agencies, news agencies, and utilities. 

The increased incidence of severe weather and disasters due to climate change is driving the need for multilingual emergency communication. Unfortunately, this is where local governments and service providers are currently falling short, failing to deliver timely and accurate translations of warnings and recommendations. This gap leaves many residents unprepared and vulnerable, especially those who speak languages that are not prioritized in disaster communication plans. Meeting the diverse needs of our communities requires utilities to purposefully create communications that can overcome language barriers, disabilities, lack of access to technology, etc. These are just a few examples of challenges that need to be addressed during disasters.

Gaps in Communication Technologies

Effective communication relies heavily on reliable, innovative solutions. In the absence of these solutions or when they don’t work correctly, message delivery and confirmation become much more uncertain, particularly when messages come from multiple sources. This increases the risk of inconsistent messaging, leading to communication breakdowns between agencies and their intended audience. Ineffective tools further hinder the ability to quickly deliver updates, overcome language and accessibility barriers, and offer adequate training for emergency communicators. 

These challenges have serious repercussions, ranging from confusion and delayed responses—both of which pose an increased risk to public safety. Addressing these gaps requires investment in robust, multi-channel communication systems, clear information-sharing protocols, and regular updates to emergency management plans to enhance community resilience and response effectiveness during wildfire emergencies.

In the face of escalating wildfires, KUBRA offers a comprehensive suite of communication solutions, enabling utilities and government entities to stay connected with their customers and citizens during hazardous events.

KUBRA Solutions Deliver Effective Communications During Crisis Situations

KUBRA’s outage map solution, Storm Center™, allows utilities to deliver information about outages, including estimated restoration time, cause of the outage, and crew status to their customers. With Storm Center’s latest release, utilities can also provide their customers with crucial updates on hurricane paths and wildfire advisories.

KUBRA’s automated alerts and preference management platform, Notifi®, allows utility customers to automatically receive crisis communications through text, email, or phone. Notifi played a critical role in working with its utility partners to ensure that customers were informed during the intense 2024 storm season. It also enabled utility customers to opt-in to receive outage notifications. 

Click here to access a personalized demo map designed specifically for your utility's needs. Discover how our state-of-the-art outage map can revolutionize your communications.

Read our white paper series on communicating during hazardous events to learn more about crisis communication.