The recent fires in Los Angeles have severely affected communities and have had a significant impact on the Hispanic population. A report from the UCLA Institute of Policy and Policy, in collaboration with the same university’s Neighborhood Knowledge Center, highlighted that forest fires in Palisades, Hurst and Eaton have exceeded evacuation zones, with disproportionate impacts on evacuation zones, having a disproportionate impact on Latinos and Latinos and other vulnerable communities in both Latinos and Los Angeles County and surrounding environments.
This vulnerability is partly due to the fact that Latinos constitute a considerable number of workers in outdoor occupations, such as construction and agriculture, which puts them at additional risk in fires. According to the analysis, 17% of residents in the Latin community work in these departments, while only 6% in the white community. This exposure not only increases the risk of respiratory illness due to poor smoke and air conditioning, but also causes huge economic losses due to work interruptions caused by fires.
“The fire does not affect everyone equally,” said Sonja Díaz, a civil rights lawyer, in the virtual panel of the study results. “It’s not necessarily where people live, it’s the interruption they create.”
Climate change and fire increase
A study studying the World Weather Attribution Initiative was a group of scientists analyzing the role of climate change in this disaster, concludes that global warming increases the likelihood of fires in Palisade and Eaton in Los Angeles. The group has filled the fires with at least 28 lives and destroyed more than 16,000 properties, which has been described as “the most destructive in Los Angeles' history and the most expensive in U.S. history.”
The WWA report shows that these fires spread rapidly and are difficult to contain due to the effects of strong winds in Santa Ana, which occur on the southern coast of California when air flows from the inner to the coast to October, usually in March between October, which leads to a cooling form of large watersheds.
Displacement and inequality in Latin communities
The same report estimates that at least 74,000 Latin Americans have been displaced or displaced due to forest fires in Los Angeles County. According to the 2024 census, about 4,741,989 residents in the region are Hispanic or Latino. Until January 8, 2025, an estimated 323,000 days of angels were affected, one quarter of which was Latin. “We're seeing disproportionate impacts,” Diaz said. “These houses and workers are in the most productive era.”
The report also shows demographic differences in evacuation areas. While white residents make up 52% of the affected population, the impact on Latin communities varies by location:
- Silma's Hurst Fire: Latinos account for 33% of the affected people.
- Eaton Fire: The affected population is more diverse, with 27% of Latin Americans, 18% of Asians and 43% of white residents.
- Palisades fire: White residents have the highest concentration (79%), and Latin Americans and Asians have the lowest representation (each).
These differences reflect systemic inequality in environmental health and access to resources, suggesting that Latin communities are more vulnerable to natural disasters.
Health and pollution: The problem of increased fires
Inequality in the premises of sanitation and pollution have expanded the impact of forest fires on Latin Angel residents. Although many Latin communities are not directly within the fire-affected areas, their exposure to pre-existing environmental pollution can disproportionately affect their health.
According to Díaz, Latinos are a racial/ethnic group with fewer opportunities to obtain health insurance in the country, which has made health care difficult. “Latinos in the county live twice as much as those with higher pollution and air quality problems,” he said.
According to the same report, residents of Latin communities have faced high levels of pollution, exposed to diesel particulate material, twice as much as those registered by white communities. This leads to significant health inequality, as Latin community has an average of 67 visits to ER for asthma per 10,000 people, compared with 25 per 10,000 people in the white community. Increased forest smoke exacerbates these pre-existing conditions, further increasing health risks in these communities.
Systemic barriers that hinder recovery
Structural barriers have exacerbated the impact of forest fires on the Latin community in Los Angeles. They show that small businesses and Latin homes face a large gap in emergency preparedness and limited opportunities to obtain support programs during a crisis.
According to Wildfire and Latino Community Survey: Health, Economics, and Readiness Challenges, nearly 28% of small businesses surveyed in California reported that despite this coverage providing financial protection in disaster situations, it has not resisted floods, earthquakes or fires.
Furthermore, according to the investigation, defects in the emergency management system historically failed to meet the specific needs of the Latin community, which created distrust and prevented the search for disaster assistance. These challenges are exacerbated by the following challenges:
“This disaster is happening in a very difficult political environment because immigrants and their families are reluctant to seek help because of concerns about compliance actions by the law,” said attorney Diaz.
Entering healthy inequality
Health insurance is a basic resource in times of crisis, allowing access to health care, treatment of injuries, and treatment of chronic diseases caused by environmental factors such as poor air quality. However, there is a clear inequality in the coverage of health insurance for individuals and communities.
In Los Angeles County, 14% of residents in Latin communities do not have health insurance, while only 3% of white communities. These gaps in access to health may hinder the prompt treatment of respiratory illnesses and other problems caused by smoke exposure, exacerbating the long-term impact of the most affected community disasters.
The fires in Los Angeles once again exposed the structural inequality faced by Latin communities, from their maximum vulnerability to environmental pollution to the inability to access basic resources in emergencies. The intersection of these factors has a devastating effect, under which economic, health and bureaucratic barriers hinder recovery.
Although the climate crisis has exacerbated the frequency and severity of fires, it also clearly requires inclusive policies to ensure the opportunity to provide protection, information and access to humanitarian assistance to all affected persons.
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