UCLA in the News lists selected mentions of UCLA in the world’s news media. Some articles may require registration or a subscription. See more UCLA in the News.

Fact check: What really happened with Pacific Palisades fire hydrants? | LAist

“It happens pretty quickly in almost any wildfire in most contexts, but especially one like this,” said Greg Pierce, director of the UCLA Water Resources Group. In order to have a system that could have handled the demands of continuous firefighting through fire hydrants, Pierce said LADWP would have needed to keep much larger reserves of water physically on hand near the locations of possible wildfires.

L.A. not prepared for size, growth of raging wildfires: Fire chief | ABC News

Travis Longcore, an adjunct professor in the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, concurred noting that the conditions and topological layout of the areas close to the fires make it difficult to manage. “To stop fires in these conditions is like grasping at straws,” he told ABC News.

Wildfires bring another health hazard: Smoke | NPR, “All Things Considered”

May Lin Wilgus, a doctor and researcher at UCLA, compares breathing wildfire smoke to smoking cigarettes – a lot of cigarettes. On a smoky day, when AQI levels reach 100 to 200, "the exposure to the fine particulate matter, the air pollution, is similar to smoking a quarter to half a pack a day," she says.

California wildfires: How warm winds stoke risks | Christian Science Monitor

“This is one of the most powerful wind events of the season. Although it is occurring in the heart of what is normally our wet season, we have had no significant precipitation to shut off its ability to spread wildfire quickly,” said Alex Hall, director of the Center for Climate Science at the University of California Los Angeles, in a statement.

Public safety or free speech? The TikTok case | Christian Science Monitor

“It’s a very significant case historically in terms of our First Amendment jurisprudence,” says Alex Alben, a lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.

What are Santa Ana winds and how are they impacting L.A. fires? | NPR

Park Williams, a professor of geography who heads the HyFiVeS Research Group (Hydroclimate, Fire, Vegetation, and Society) at UCLA describes the current scenario as a “highly improbable sequence of extreme climate and weather events over the past two years.”

Wildfires can leave lasting psychological scars | New York Times

“The loss of a home, the displacement you experience, the difficulty of rebuilding, living with the anxiety that this might happen to you again — all that combines to create, for many people, lasting psychological harm,” said Dr. David P. Eisenman, a primary care physician and director of the UCLA Center for Public Health and Disasters.

Dangers fueling L.A. fires: Exceptional dryness, strong winds | NBC News

Parts of San Diego County are experiencing their driest start to the winter season in more than 150 years, according to the Weather West blog by Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA. The addition of the winds was like an “atmospheric blow-dryer,” Swain wrote. (Swain was also featured by the San Francisco Chronicle, Vox, Grist and CalMatters.)

Explaining the hurricane-force Santa Ana winds that fan wildfires | CBS News

The winds usually originate in the Great Basin of the United States between September and May. This area, east of California, is at a higher elevation than L.A., and as the air drops, its temperature rises, according to Dr. Robert Fovell, a UCLA professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences. 

Meta’s decision to ax fact-checking a free speech ‘win’: Experts | Fox News

[UCLA Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer Chris] Mattmann said that as companies like Meta move to a more “open-system mentality” and “shine a light” on their internal processes, the platforms will become better.