Fresh Air: Investigating The Great Los Angeles Fires
Host: Tonya Mosley (NPR)
Guest: Jacob Soboroff, journalist and author
Date: January 5, 2026
Episode Focus: A deep dive into the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires with on-the-ground reporting, personal narrative, and an incisive look at the political and societal forces shaping disaster response in America.
Episode Overview
This episode of Fresh Air features journalist Jacob Soboroff discussing his urgent, on-the-ground coverage of the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires—the deadliest in the city's history. Soboroff shares insights from his harrowing experiences reporting as his childhood neighborhood burned, details systemic failures, and explains why these “natural” disasters are our new normal. Drawing from his new book, Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America's New Age of Disaster, Soboroff blends first-person narrative, investigation, and expert analysis to unpack the multifaceted crisis, from climate change to misinformation to governmental paralysis.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. Reporting From Home in Crisis
[00:05-04:38]
- Soboroff shares the surreal experience of reporting live from the Pacific Palisades, his childhood neighborhood, as it burned.
- He reflects emotionally on personal loss—his family homes, friends’ homes, and familiar landmarks destroyed.
- Highlights the overwhelming nature of being both a journalist and a victim:
- “Every hallmark of my childhood, I was watching carbonize in front of me.” (Jacob Soboroff, 03:26)
- On-the-ground conditions: choking smoke, extreme heat, dangerous proximity to collapsing structures, deep personal loneliness amid chaos.
2. The Intersection of Politics and Personal Trauma
[06:13-08:53]
- Describes a “surreal moment” when Katie Miller (wife of Stephen Miller, former Trump adviser) contacted Soboroff mid-fire to check on her in-laws’ house—a reminder of his previous work covering controversial family separation policies.
- Contrasts personal connections with the immediate spread of conspiracy theories and political misinformation about the fires:
- “Within minutes of hearing from her... Donald Trump is putting out messages on social media, spreading conspiracy theories about the fire.” (Jacob Soboroff, 08:16)
3. Systemic Failures: Climate, Infrastructure, & Resources
[08:53-18:09]
- Discusses expert Capt. Jonathan White’s perspective: No single cause—rather, a convergence of climate, aging infrastructure, and political failures.
- Notably, there’s "fire year," not "fire season" anymore; systems aren’t built to cope with this new normal.
- Critical failures highlighted:
- Delayed firefighter deployment.
- Inadequate water pressure due to simultaneous hydrant use:
- “It’s like being in your house and turning all the taps on at the same time and expecting your water pressure to remain the same. It’s just not possible.” (Jacob Soboroff recounting firefighter Tim Larson, 13:16)
- Grounding of helicopters due to extreme wind.
- Electrical grid vulnerabilities—dormant power lines re-electrified by wind started the Eaton Fire.
- The significance of undetected underground fires and embers (“firebrands”).
- Debate over antiquated above-ground vs. underground power lines.
4. Modern Hazards: Lithium-Ion Explosions & Firefighter Health
[16:51-20:21]
- The rise of electric vehicles introduced new dangers: Over 1,000 lithium-ion batteries exploded during the wildfires.
- Firefighters express acute fear of long-term health consequences, referencing toxic air and comparing the risks to those faced after 9/11:
- “He worried in a way he had never before that he’d come out of it with cancer because of the things that burned.” (Jacob Soboroff relaying Cal Fire’s Nick Schuller, 17:54)
- Federal programs designed to monitor responder health (NIOSH) suffered political defunding.
5. The Political “Firestorm”: Misinformation and Institutional Erosion
[21:49-25:45]
- Political interference and misinformation outpace even fire containment:
- “Donald Trump saying that you could flow water from the Pacific Northwest in order to stop the fires... None of it was true.” (Jacob Soboroff, 22:16)
- Cuts to scientific and disaster agencies (NOAA, FEMA) have created a “vacuum of knowledge,” making future disaster preparation and response uncertain.
- “We’ll never actually know unless this is stood back up under a future administration the full cost, according to the federal government, of the Great Los Angeles Fires...” (Jacob Soboroff, 24:39)
6. Invisible Workforce, Delayed Recovery
[25:45-32:53]
- Governor Newsom’s off-camera worry: Undocumented laborers would be critical to rebuilding, yet vulnerable to immigration enforcement.
- “These types of massive, both humanitarian and natural disasters, give us X-ray vision... Los Angeles has more undocumented people than virtually any other city.” (Jacob Soboroff, 26:09)
- Workplace raids and fear among immigrants slowed recovery; only a fraction of permits have been issued for destroyed homes.
- Personal connection: Soboroff’s father briefly led recovery efforts but faced local political turmoil.
7. The Human Side of Disaster and What’s Left Behind
[30:17-34:26]
- Rebuilding is slow, uneven, and marked by deep economic disparity—generational wealth particularly lost in Altadena.
- Lingering struggles: insurance nightmares, toxic contamination, and the psychological toll of watching communities hollow out.
- The landscape: construction sites, patchwork of rebuilding, many “for sale” signs, and a new community made up largely of daytime laborers.
8. Are We Building for More Disaster?
[34:16-35:41]
- Reflection on urban design’s role in recurring disaster:
- “We have designed this community to be one that's in the crosshairs of a fire just like the one we experienced, and that we will certainly experience again because nobody's packing it up and leaving Los Angeles.” (Jacob Soboroff, 35:34)
9. Journalism, Memoir, and Bearing Witness
[35:41-39:41]
- Soboroff blends reportage and personal memoir, reflecting on journalist trauma, “rock bottom” public trust, and his need to process what he witnessed.
- He speaks to the invaluable service local journalists provided, sometimes surpassing official emergency systems:
- “Local news was telling you what streets and what corners were accessible and not, what homes were on fire, talking to people by their first names... They are as much a first responder on a front line as anybody else.” (Jacob Soboroff, 39:31)
Notable Quotes
-
On personal loss and trauma:
“Every hallmark of my childhood, I was watching carbonize in front of me.”
— Jacob Soboroff [03:26] -
On misinformation:
“Donald Trump is putting out messages on social media, spreading conspiracy theories about the fire. And then her soon-to-be boss, Elon Musk, is amplifying and echoing some of them.”
— Jacob Soboroff [08:16] -
On systemic causes:
“There’s not one proximate cause of this fire. It’s the confluence of all of these things.”
— Jacob Soboroff quoting Capt. Jonathan White [09:39] -
On firefighting challenges:
“You could throw in every firefighter in the world and still can’t stop [these fires].”
— Quoting a National Forest official via Mike Davis, Ecology of Fear [11:10] -
On above-ground infrastructure:
"It’s the way they used to do it... there’s no question today that undergrounding of those utilities would prevent... similar disasters in the future."
— Jacob Soboroff [16:12] -
On disaster exposure:
“He worried in a way he had never before that he’d come out of it with cancer because of the things that burned.”
— Jacob Soboroff, relaying Nick Schuller, Cal Fire [17:54] -
On politics and rebuilding:
“It’s undeniable that the Trump administration policies on immigration have directly affected the people who are called upon in scenarios just like this.”
— Jacob Soboroff [28:09] -
On local journalism’s role:
“Local news was telling you what streets and what corners were accessible and not, what homes were on fire... They are as much a first responder on a front line as anybody else.”
— Jacob Soboroff [39:31]
Memorable Moments and Timestamps
- [02:06]: Soboroff reporting live, only a block from his burned childhood home.
- [06:42]: Unexpected call from Katie Miller amid the chaos.
- [13:16]: Firefighter analogy about water pressure failure.
- [17:14]: Discussion of exploding lithium batteries and new urban fire hazards.
- [22:16]: Trump’s misinformation begins before the fires are contained.
- [24:39]: The “vacuum of knowledge” created by federal agency cuts.
- [26:09]: Governor Newsom’s private comments about undocumented laborers and disaster recovery.
- [30:40]: Description of Palisades and Altadena as ghostly construction zones one year later.
- [35:41]: Reflections on urban planning and recurring disaster.
- [39:31]: Soboroff’s homage to local journalists as essential first responders.
Tone, Voice, and Final Reflections
The conversation is urgent, empathetic, and deeply personal—Soboroff is meticulous yet raw, seamlessly shifting between journalism and memoir. The tone is at once grief-stricken and resolute, recognizing the structural flaws in politics and planning, while celebrating the tireless dedication of first responders and local journalists. The episode closes on the necessity—and the humanity—of bearing witness amid disaster.