“Firestorm”: A Reporter’s Personal Account of the Great los Angeles Fires and America’s New age of disaster
As wildfires become increasingly frequent and devastating, Jacob Soboroff’s “Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America’s New Age of Disaster” offers a harrowing, first-person account of the 2025 blazes that ravaged Southern California, compounded by cascading failures and widespread disinformation. The book, set to release in early January, marks the first comprehensive look at the costliest wildfire event in American history, and a chilling premonition of what’s to come.
Soboroff, a native of the Palisades, recounts the initial shock of witnessing his childhood home and community threatened by the flames. “What do you write when the place you grew up, the place where your parents met and raised you, is wiped off the map, literally burning to the ground before your eyes?” he writes, admitting he “couldn’t come up with much.”
“Firestorm” isn’t simply a recounting of events; it’s an immersion into the reporter’s notebook, detailing the nearly two relentless weeks Soboroff spent covering the Palisades and subsequent Eaton wildfire. He describes fire as a “remarkable time machine,” a force that simultaneously transports one to the past and offers a glimpse into a frightening future. The book argues that the future many predicted arrived on the morning of January 7th, 2025.
Soboroff’s narrative is deeply personal, interwoven with his own experiences and family history.A poignant example is his return to the Palisades Recreation center in late December, witnessing the rebuilding efforts – a $30-million project funded by City Hall, billionaire Rick caruso, and Lakers coach JJ Redick – and reflecting on his father’s decades-long commitment to the community. A plaque on the sole standing structure, a New Deal-era basketball gym, bears his parents’ names alongside those of countless others, a testament to his father’s fundraising efforts and civic engagement sparked by a childhood head injury at the park. “All as my dad hit his head at this park,” Soboroff recalls with a wry smile.
The book paints a chaotic picture of the unfolding disaster, from “all-caps warnings ricochet[ing] between agencies” to the surreal sight of “Pompeii by the Pacific” on Sunset Boulevard. Soboroff details the frantic scramble for details, fielding calls from loved ones and unexpected contacts, including Katie Miller, a former White house aide, who sought confirmation of her in-laws’ fate. Despite their past political differences – stemming from Soboroff’s 2020 book “Separated” about the Trump administration’s family separation policy – Miller reached out, acknowledging the immediate human need for information.”Palisades is stronger than politics in my book,” Soboroff replied, confirming the devastating loss.
The intensity of the situation extended beyond the immediate reporting. Soboroff describes the exhaustion of returning home to Frogtown, changing out of smoke-soaked clothes, and grabbing a few hours of sleep before heading back into the fray. He recounts a visit from MSNBC colleague Katy Tur, a fellow native Palisadian, to witness the devastation of their shared youth. Following the fires, Soboroff transitioned to covering immigration enforcement raids, a stark reminder of the ongoing challenges facing Los Angeles.
A turning point for Soboroff came in April, during a conversation with Jonathan White, a captain in the U.S. public Health Service Commissioned Corps, who is now running for congress. White’s assertion that fire is now the fastest-growing and most immediate threat in America crystallized the book’s focus. Soboroff then dedicated himself to interviewing firefighters, scientists, residents, and federal officials, meticulously documenting the events of January 7-24, culminating with President Trump’s visit to the Palisades with Governor Newsom.
Soboroff intentionally refrained from delving into investigative journalism or political finger-pointing, choosing instead to focus on the human experience. “For me, it’s a much more personal book,” he explains. “It’s about experiencing what I came to understand as the fire of the future. It’s about people as much as politics.” He hopes that sharing his experience will serve as a crucial lesson for communities across the country, preparing them for the escalating threat of wildfires and the “New Age of Disaster” that he believes has already begun.
Worth a look
