Remote Sensing During the 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires

Abstract

The January 2025 Los Angeles County wildfires burned more than 50,000 acres, destroyed more than 16,000 structures, and caused 31 deaths. This Commentary examines how NASA's Disasters Program coordinated with response organizations to deliver 22 satellite and airborne products during the fires, even as the Eaton Fire forced the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to close and displaced many employees. No single sensor met all operational needs. Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer 3 (AVIRIS‐3) observations supported methane screening and detailed mapping of burn severity and relative char and ash abundance. Sentinel‐1 synthetic aperture radar provided damage information through smoke and clouds, while thermal, optical, and nighttime‐lights sensors contributed active‐fire, power‐outage, surface‐temperature, and burn‐scar observations. The combined products supported situational awareness, damage assessment, air quality monitoring, infrastructure evaluation, and debris‐flow planning. Their operational value, however, depended on whether observations were delivered within the relevant decision window and at a spatial scale suited to agency needs. The response exposed persistent limitations associated with data latency, uneven spatial resolution, manual processing, and the difficulty of quantifying how individual products influenced decisions. Priorities for future events include automated and cloud‐based processing, higher‐resolution commercial and airborne observations, cross‐center continuity planning, and sustained training and exercises with response agencies. The recently launched NASA‐ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission and the future Explorer for Artemis Geology Lunar and Earth (EAGLE) missions can expand these capabilities when paired with the processing systems and partnerships needed to convert observations into actionable products.