Preventive action can’t avert wildfires but can save lives, meteorologists say

A police officer directs traffic so people can evacuate as a wildfire breaks out near Pacific Palisades on the west side of Los Angeles on Jan. 7, 2025. The World Meteorological Organization says evacuation plans are important in saving lives in natural disasters. A National Guardsman talks with a driver near damaged structures burned from a wildfire in Altadena, California, on Jan. 10, 2025. The devastation from the Palisades Fire is seen from the air in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 9, 2025. A person wears a mask because of hazardous air quality due to wildfires as she rides her bike by the beach in Santa Monica, California, on Jan. 8, 2025.

The World Meteorlogical Organization says that preventive action cannot avert natural disasters such as the wildfires raging across Los Angeles, but that it can help save lives and mitigate loss of property.