{"id":10648,"date":"2025-01-25T13:04:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-25T12:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/?p=10648"},"modified":"2025-01-28T13:12:01","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T12:12:01","slug":"facts-and-conspiracy-theories-about-los-angeles-fires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/2025\/01\/25\/facts-and-conspiracy-theories-about-los-angeles-fires\/","title":{"rendered":"Facts and Conspiracy Theories About Los Angeles Fires"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Original article<\/a> (in Bosnian) was published on 17\/1\/2024; Author: Nerma \u0160ehovi\u0107<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The causes of the fire in Los Angeles on social networks are \u201cexplained\u201d on social networks through conspiracy theories about secret weapons and plans to build a \u201csmart city\u201d on the site of the fire.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fires in Los Angeles, ongoing since January 7, 2025<\/a>, are among the most destructive natural disasters in the city’s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, 27 people have been confirmed dead<\/a>, and over 170,000 have been evacuated<\/a> from their homes. The material damage in the city is enormous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fires quickly became a global media topic, with extensive information shared on social media. However, alongside factual reports about the fires, numerous disinformation and conspiracy theories have also been shared. Raskrinkavanje has already reported on several videos created using artificial intelligence, which are being presented as authentic on social media (link<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As is often the case with natural disasters, conspiracy theories about \u201cgeoengineering\u201d as the cause have begun to spread on social media. Claims suggest that the fires were deliberately caused by \u201cdirected energy weapons\u201d (DEW). Many posts on Facebook and X allege that the goal is to \u201cclear\u201d the city to build a smart city or, in some versions, a 15-minute city (1<\/a>, 2<\/a>, 3<\/a>, 4<\/a>, 5<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, on January 9, 2025, a Facebook profile available here<\/a> posted a photo of an advertisement for a \u201csmart city\u201d project in Los Angeles, along with the following description:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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THIS IS WHY LOS ANGELES IS BURNING, ALL ACCORDING TO THE ELITE’S PLAN AND PROGRAM. GEOENGINEERING AND MILITARY TECHNOLOGY ARE DOING THEIR WORK. DELIBERATELY CAUSED WINDS AND DEW WEAPONS ARE AT PLAY. INDIVIDUAL TREES REMAIN UNTOUCHED. THE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF THE FIRE IS APPROXIMATELY 2000 DEGREES, WHILE METAL CARS MELT EASILY, EVEN THOUGH THE MELTING TEMPERATURE OF METAL IS APPROXIMATELY 2500-2900 DEGREES. MOREOVER, INSURANCE COMPANIES CANCELED ALL POLICIES FOUR MONTHS BEFORE THESE FIRES – DID THEY KNOW SOMETHING? LET’S CONTINUE. WATER FROM EMERGENCY RESERVOIRS HAS DISAPPEARED – COINCIDENCE? HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN? HOW?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(…)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ZAGREB WILL BURN TOO, EVENTUALLY. SHARE THIS, PEOPLE, THE TRUTH MUST BE KNOWN.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What Are the Facts About the Fires and Their Causes?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a map<\/a> published by The New York Times, eight fires are currently active in the Los Angeles region. The largest among them are the \u201cPalisades\u201d fire in the east and the \u201cEaton\u201d fire in the west of the city. Efforts to control the fires are significantly hindered by strong winds<\/a>, specifically the so-called Santa Ana winds<\/a>. These winds originate in California\u2019s Sierra Nevada and White Mountains, as well as the Klamath River Basin in northern California and southern Oregon. Santa Ana winds are common in the Los Angeles region during this time of year. However, the absence of accompanying rainfall, which often mitigates their effects, has made the situation particularly problematic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the midst of the fires, numerous questions are being raised about the city’s capacity to deal with such disasters. Previous decisions by local authorities are also being scrutinized, such as the 2025 reduction of the fire department’s budget from $837 million in 2024 to $819 million (1<\/a>, 2<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exact causes of the fires are not yet fully known, and comprehensive investigations will be needed in the coming months to uncover all the facts. Currently, it is believed that the \u201cPalisades<\/a>\u201d fire was caused by a smaller fire that started on New Year’s Eve, potentially due to the use of fireworks. The \u201cKenneth\u201d fire<\/a> is suspected to have been started by an unidentified man who has been arrested by Los Angeles police. The \u201cEaton\u201d fire<\/a> is linked to power lines in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, this is a highly complex situation caused by a variety of factors, both natural and human-made. Complete answers are not yet available. However, what is clear is that the fires were not caused by any \u201csecret weapon\u201d. First and foremost, directed energy weapons, as previously explained in this analysis (available here<\/a>), are not in widespread use. Although some countries are testing such weapons, they are not yet advanced enough to be used outside laboratories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is therefore hard to imagine such weapons being developed enough to cause fires of this magnitude. Such an endeavour would also be unlikely to go unnoticed in a city of over 12 million residents, and currently, there is absolutely no evidence to support these claims. Claims about geoengineering and the Los Angeles fires have also been addressed by Reuters in an article <\/a>published on January 14, 2025. The article explains that \u201cevidence\u201d such as claims that trees remain untouched by fire is unfounded. Some trees survive fires because their roots supply water to the trunk and canopy, keeping them moist. Houses, on the other hand, are often built from dry, highly flammable materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSmart\u201d Los Angeles and 15-minute Cities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Numerous social media posts claim that the alleged deliberate firesetting in Los Angeles is intended to destroy the city to make way for the construction of a \u201csmart\u201d and\/or 15-minute city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Los Angeles city government launched a project called \u201cSmart LA 2028<\/a>\u201d in 2019. The goal, as the name suggests, is to turn Los Angeles into a \u201csmart city\u201d by 2028. However, contrary to conspiracy theorists\u2019 claims on social media, this does not involve demolishing the existing city. The actual plan is far less \u201cspectacular\u201d and involves using modern technology to improve access to services such as public transportation, emergency services, and city library resources. A detailed overview of these goals and their implementation is available in a publicly accessible document published by the city administration (here<\/a>). It makes it very clear that achieving these goals does not require destroying Los Angeles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concept of 15-minute cities has also been a target of conspiracy theories on social media for several years, as previously analyzed by Raskrinkavanje (available here<\/a> and here<\/a>). According to conspiracy claims, elites want to limit people’s movements against their will by \u201ctrapping\u201d them in communities that can be navigated on foot within 15 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, the 15-minute city<\/a> is an urban planning concept aimed at making life easier for residents and reducing car usage by ensuring that amenities such as schools, stores, housing, and workplaces are built close to one another. The creator of the 15-minute city concept is Sorbonne University professor Carlos Moreno<\/a>, who began developing it in 2016. However, this concept is not new to urban planning – it is inspired by the old design of cities<\/a> that predated the widespread use of cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea of \u201ctrapping\u201d people in 15-minute cities is entirely fictional and has been promoted only by conspiracy theorists. It is an urban planning concept designed to simplify daily life, not restrict movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conspiracy theories suggesting that the Los Angeles fires were caused by secret weapons to make way for a \u201csmart\u201d or 15-minute city are baseless. They are rooted in a misunderstanding of the concepts they discuss and are not supported by any evidence. Their creators are not genuinely trying to uncover the \u201ctruth\u201d about the devastating fires in Los Angeles but are promoting an oversimplified, black-and-white narrative that reduces the complex factors behind the disaster to a battle between \u201celites\u201d and the people, like a cheap dystopian thriller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similar \u201cconspiratorial\u201d interpretations often accompany natural disasters. Raskrinkavanje has previously written about conspiracy theories related to the fires in Hawaii<\/a>, earthquakes in Turkey and Syria<\/a>, and floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina<\/a>.
Therefore, the claim that the Los Angeles fires were caused by secret weapons to construct a \u201csmart\u201d or 15-minute city is rated as a conspiracy theory<\/strong>.
<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Original article (in Bosnian) was published on 17\/1\/2024; Author: Nerma \u0160ehovi\u0107 The causes of the fire in Los Angeles on social networks are \u201cexplained\u201d on social networks through conspiracy theories about secret weapons and plans to build a \u201csmart city\u201d on the site of the fire. Fires in Los Angeles, ongoing since January 7, 2025, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10649,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[316],"tags":[535,536],"class_list":["post-10648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fact-checks","tag-los-angeles","tag-wildfire"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10648"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10652,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10648\/revisions\/10652"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}