When wildfires burn, it’s often tiny, blazing fragments of debris, known as embers, that cause the most widespread destruction.
Embers are born when flames consume vegetation, structures or other fuel sources that break off into lightweight, burning particles that are easily carried by the wind.
The path of an ember is erratic. These airborne fragments can travel miles ahead of the actual flames and ignite new spot fires wherever they land—even over natural firebreaks like rivers or roads.
In the case of the Los Angeles wildfires, the unusually dry conditions combined with the strong gusts from the Santa Ana winds made it favorable for embers to rapidly ignite and spread over two to three miles ahead of the fires in every direction.
Firefighters and residents across the Greater Los Angeles region reported massive ember storms that hindered containment and obstructed evacuation efforts.
Rising temperatures driven by climate change were believed to have caused the record-low precipitation in Southern California in the 2024-2025 rainfall season.
Burning embers, also known as firebrands, can land anywhere and everywhere. Once they land, the embers ignite combustible weak points in structures and landscaping. These can include: dry leaves in gutters, flammable shingles, unprotected vents and woodpiles left nearby.
An ember can start a spot fire in a minute or less if it lands in the right combination of fuel and weather conditions. In densely built urban areas, firebrands can ignite dozens of blazes in neighborhoods far from the flames in a matter of hours.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, embers cause an estimated 60 to 90 percent of the structural damage during wildfires.
Reducing the flammability of a home and its surrounding property can substantially reduce the number of fires that embers start and ensure those flames that do flare do not have the fuel to burn long enough or intensely enough to ignite other parts of the property.
To help prevent ignition from firebrands: use fire-resistant roofing materials like clay tiles or metal, keep gutters clear of debris, install metal mesh vents, have woodpiles stacked at least 30 feet away from the house and create a 5-foot fuel-free defensible space (gravel or hardscaping instead of flammable vegetation).
As climate change continues to increase the length of fire seasons, the amount of land that burns and the landscapes affected by wildfires, land managers, firefighters and scientists are increasingly emphasizing the importance of these prevention measures to protect communities from the threat of these tiny drivers of megafires.
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