While disaster tourism might be rather tasteless, the current reports of thrill and selfie-seekers in LA may actually be hindering fire suppression and evacuation efforts.
At least one group of young adults has been photographed taking selfies in front of a wildfire in a Pasadena neighborhood.
Gawkers in disaster zones are nothing new. So-called Disaster Tourism has been around for decades. The Los Angeles Times reported on visitors to fire damage in Altadena over 30 years ago, following a 1993 wildfire in Altadena. Altadena is currently experiencing significant impacts from the Palisades fire, the largest of the wildfires that continued burning in Los Angeles as of early Friday.
Tensions also ran high on Maui after the Lahaina fires in the summer of 2023 after tourists were found taking selfies after wildfires leveled the entire historic waterfront of the town. Although community leaders quickly walked back comments about tourists not being welcome on Maui because their dollars were needed to aid recovery, many local residents felt the selfie-taking visitors were unwittingly turning their loss into a social media spectacle.
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But in both situations, those disaster tourists were taking their selfies after the danger had passed. While disaster tourism might be rather tasteless, the current reports of thrill and selfie-seekers in LA may actually be hindering fire suppression and evacuation efforts.
LA officials urged residents in areas under evacuation orders or warnings to “get the hell out”. An evacuation order requires residents to leave an area because of imminent danger, and those found willfully violating evacuation orders can be charged with a misdemeanor. Violating an evacuation order can be raised to a felony charge if done so while breaking other laws. Evacuation warnings are notices that residents should be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice should an order be issued.
Evacuation orders are issued not only to ensure the safety of local residents, but also to ensure that first responders aren’t slowed fighting fires and assessing hazards if they have to devote resources to rescue residents and visitors who disregard the orders. Evacuation orders do not alter directives for first responders that they must do all possible to preserve human life in imminent danger.
Increased traffic from gawkers in areas under evacuation orders can also exacerbate evacuation efforts. There have already been reports of slow evacuations because of the narrow, winding roads in the neighborhoods affected by the Palisades fire—roads designed for everyday use, but that quickly become saturated in the event of a traffic surge, such as during a natural disaster evacuation. Some evacuees, frustrated with the slow pace of the evacuation, even abandoned their cars and continued on foot, leaving their vehicles as an effective roadblock for those behind them. The cars eventually needed to be cleared by a bulldozer to make way for first responders to reach the area.
Several of the fires have already recorded loss of life, and officials expect the death toll to rise in the coming days.
