Between January 7 and January 9, 2025, the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles grew from 10 acres to nearly 20,000 acres. As officials raced to contain the rapidly moving blaze, more than 3,000 personnel from the US, Canada, and Mexico joined the response. While much of the response focused on ground operations, aerial assets played a critical role in tracking and fighting the fire.
This animated map from Peter Atwood at Esri highlights the aerial response to the Palisades Fire. It uses data from FlightAware collected over a period of nearly 24 hours from January 9 to January 10.
Neon green lines trace the recurring, serpentine paths of aircraft collecting imagery and data to map the spread of the fire. Super scoopers (yellow) make continuous trips from the ocean to the fire’s hot spots and back. This loop continues for several hours as they pick up water to douse the spreading flames. Helicopters (blue) and spotters (purple) circle areas of interest to gather information about the fire’s movement. Retardant tankers (red) emerge from the east to drop their payloads on the fire before heading back to reload.
Around 2:00 p.m., you can see the Kenneth Fire perimeter, north of the Palisades Fire and near Calabasas. Almost immediately, helicopters, spotters, and retardant tankers appear. Super scoopers also arrive to help fight the nascent blaze.
At multiple points during the video, you can see how crowded the skies become. The map’s striking and engaging design reveals the scale of the response without becoming overwhelming. It also showcases the precise orchestration that enables so many aircraft to assist in combating the fire.
More to Explore
- Learn about the conditions that led to the wildfire outbreak across Los Angeles in January 2025.
- Revisit Peter Atwood’s animated map of Canada’s historic 2023 wildfires.
