Are vehicles considered ‘structures’? An examination of damage assessment in the catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles.

The devastation caused by wildfires in the Los Angeles region is truly alarming, with entire neighborhoods wiped out, key landmarks damaged, and lives tragically lost. However, the reporting on the number of “structures” affected—over 12,000—has led to some misunderstandings within the community. This figure reportedly encompasses not only homes, apartments, and commercial spaces but also includes vehicles.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone has indicated that this estimate incorporates vehicles, a detail that is not commonly highlighted when officials report on fire damage. As California’s wildfire agency classified the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires as some of the most devastating in the state, it raised questions about the validity of comparing such figures reliably.

According to Chris Thomas, a spokesperson for the unified command overseeing the Palisades fire, the preliminary estimate was derived from infrared images captured from aerial surveys. However, he noted the challenge in distinguishing whether a charred shape reflected a vehicle or a structure from such high altitudes.

After analyzing these images, officials made efforts to exclude any items that seemed to be vehicles, particularly those parked in driveways or positioned along roadsides devoid of homes, as Thomas explained. Ground teams, totaling sixteen, are currently assessing the damage on-site to ascertain the actual number of structures lost, ensuring that vehicles will not be part of the final tally.

“We are including various items that don’t strictly qualify as structures,” Thomas remarked. “In cases of uncertainty, there is a tendency to be cautious and incorporate them into our estimates.” As a result, the finalized count of destroyed structures could potentially be lower than the initially stated figure of 12,000.

“Our goal is to maintain transparency in reporting, stating, ‘This is the method we’re using,’ but then there’s also a need to clarify why vehicles may have been included in the count,” said Thomas. Structures eligible for inclusion in the tally might consist of detached buildings, such as garages, sheds, or pool houses, but the ongoing assessments will yield a more accurate representation of the destruction wrought by these wildfires.