Los Angeles Wildfires Spark Housing Disinformation Amidst Devastation
Los Angeles County faced a devastating series of wildfires in January 2025, fueled by a prolonged drought and powerful Santa Ana winds. The fires claimed over 27 lives and caused billions of dollars in property damage, particularly impacting the Palisades and Pasadena. Beyond the immediate physical destruction, the disaster ignited a wave of disinformation targeting California Governor Gavin Newsom and his administration’s response to the crisis, focusing on the already strained housing situation in the region.
The most prominent piece of misinformation falsely alleged that Governor Newsom was exploiting the wildfire tragedy to push through zoning changes in the Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood within the city of Los Angeles. This claim asserted that Newsom was colluding with developers to convert single-family home zoning to allow for the construction of apartment buildings, purportedly capitalizing on the fire-ravaged landscape. This narrative quickly spread on social media platforms, further exacerbating anxieties in communities already grappling with a shortage of affordable housing, a statewide issue intensified by the loss of homes in the fires.
Governor Newsom’s office swiftly and categorically refuted these allegations. Tara Gallegos, Deputy Director of Communications, issued a statement on January 21, 2025, unequivocally stating, "The claim is false, period. The governor is not working with developers to convert zoning in Pacific Palisades from single-family to apartments." This denial echoed Newsom’s earlier rebuttal on social media on January 11, 2025, where he directly addressed the circulating disinformation.
Governor Newsom did issue an Executive Order on January 7, 2025, aimed at expediting the recovery process for wildfire-affected areas. This order temporarily suspended certain permitting requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act and the Coastal Act to accelerate rebuilding efforts. It also extended price-gouging protections for essential goods and services within Los Angeles County. Crucially, the order explicitly limited rebuilding to structures not exceeding 110% of their original size and footprint, and made no mention of any zoning changes whatsoever.
The disinformation surrounding Governor Newsom’s actions fundamentally misrepresents the established process of zoning regulation in California. Zoning decisions, which dictate the types of buildings permitted, their locations, and their dimensions, fall predominantly under the jurisdiction of local governments, not the state. While the state government sets broader housing policies, individual cities and counties retain significant autonomy in managing land use within their boundaries. This process typically involves collaboration between local officials, planning commissions, and community stakeholders to develop and implement zoning ordinances.
Legal experts specializing in housing and property law further corroborated this framework. Tim Iglesias, Faculty Emeritus at the University of San Francisco, emphasized the decentralized nature of zoning control in California. While acknowledging the state’s power to influence or modify these local decisions through statewide requirements, he stressed that primary responsibility rests at the local level. Similarly, Nicholas Marantz, Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Public Policy at the University of California, Irvine, dismissed the notion of gubernatorial intervention in zoning as described in the false claims, deeming it "absolutely unprecedented." Marantz also discounted the argument that the Emergency Services Act, which grants the governor certain powers during emergencies, could justify such a drastic rezoning measure.
The Los Angeles City Planning Department, the entity directly responsible for zoning within the city, did not provide a response when contacted for comment. This incident highlights the vulnerability of communities affected by disasters to misinformation and the importance of fact-checking and relying on credible sources of information. The wildfire tragedy in Los Angeles County not only caused immense physical and economic hardship but also became the backdrop for the spread of false narratives, further complicating the recovery process and exacerbating existing anxieties surrounding housing affordability. This underscores the critical need for accurate and timely information dissemination during crises to counter the damaging effects of disinformation.