January 25, 2025 /Volume 1, Issue 4

SPECIAL EDITION: CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES

We take a break from our regular cannabis news to concentrate on the devastating fires plaguing the Los Angeles area. We give a breakdown of the destruction, offer insight into how the fires started, cover how the fires will impact the industry, and provide resources for those in need.

Wildfire Disasters

Fire-fighting plane dispensing flame retardant and fire fighting units and engines in front of a home

What Happened?

While the exact cause of the fires still hasn’t been sufficiently determined, a general consensus posits that a mixture of poor planning (allowing homes to be constructed in fire-prone areas), weather conditions (e.g., hurricane-level winds, low humidity, etc.), an excess of dry vegetation, an ongoing drought, and possibly deeply unscrupulous behavior (i.e., arson) caused one of the worst series of fires in Los Angeles history.

While fingers will inevitably be pointed following a disaster (especially by politically motivated finger-pointers), experts in water management argue that it wasn’t a matter of having access to water (or enough water). The problem? The infrastructure in place was never intended to handle a catastrophe of such magnitude. It also doesn’t help that the LA Fire Department is one of the most understaffed fire departments in the country. The fires have been so destructive that some say they won’t attempt to rebuild.

Fire-fighting plane dispensing flame retardant over a neighborhood

By the Numbers

The Fires

  1. Palisades Fire
  2. Eaton Fire
  3. Hurst Fire
  4. Lidia Fire
  5. Sunset Fire
  6. Kenneth Fire
  7. Archer Fire
  8. Hughes Fire
  9. Sepulveda Fire
  10. More to come…

The Damage

  • Total estimated damage and economic loss: $250-275 billion
  • Insured losses: At least $30 billion
  • Uninsured losses: At least $10 billion
  • Total acres burned: Over 40,000
  • Structures destroyed: Over 12,300
  • Deaths: 24-25
  • Missing, 31, as of 1/23/25
  • People evacuated: Over 205,000 (105,000 from Palisades Fire, 100,000 from Eaton Fire)

Major Fires Breakdown

Here are the brief statistics for the California wildfires as of January 23, 2025, verified with Cal Fire, LAFD, and other official sources.  Some information may be incomplete or not available for all fires.
The data is based on the most recent official reports as of January 23, 2025:

Palisades Fire:

  • Acres burned: 23,448
  • Structures destroyed: 6,380
  • Deaths: 11
  • Missing people: 7
  • Containment: 72%

Eaton Fire:

  • Acres burned: 14,021
  • Structures destroyed: 9,418
  • Deaths: 17
  • Containment: 95%

Hurst Fire:

  • Acres burned: 799
  • Structures destroyed: None reported
  • Deaths: None reported
  • Containment: 100%

Lidia Fire:

  • Acres burned: 395
  • Structures destroyed: Not specified
  • Deaths: Not specified
  • Missing people: Not specified
  • Containment: 100%

Sunset Fire:

  • Acres burned: 46
  • Structures destroyed: Not specified
  • Deaths: Not specified
  • Missing people: Not specified
  • Containment: 100%

Kenneth Fire:

  • Acres burned: 1,052
  • Structures destroyed: Not specified
  • Deaths: 1
  • Missing people: Not specified
  • Containment: 100%

Archer Fire:

  • Acres Burned: 19
  • Structures destroyed: Not Specified
  • Deaths: 0
  • Missing people: Unknown
  • Containment: 100%

Hughes Fire:

  • Acres burned: 10,278
  • Structures destroyed: Not specified
  • Deaths: Not specified
  • Missing people: Not specified
  • Containment: 24%

Sepulveda Fire:

  • Acres burned: 45
  • Structures destroyed: Not specified
  • Deaths: 0
  • Missing Persons: Unknown
  • Containment: 60%

The Atrium

Woodland Hills, CA
On a normal day, no wildfires.

The Atrium on a normal day, pre-fire

View of the Palisades Fire cresting the hill to the San Fernando Valley. This view is to the SE from “The Atrium” parking lot, 1/10/25 at 4:45PM.

View of the fire plume looking to the SE from the Atrium

  1. IRS – Federal income, corporate, excise, and payroll taxes
  2. FTB – California’s top taxation agency, the California Franchise Tax Board has extended the deadline to file California tax returns and to pay any tax payments for individuals and businesses anywhere in Los Angeles County to October 15, 2025.
  3. LA County Assessor
    – The Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office has announced property tax relief for those in Los Angeles County whose property has been damaged or destroyed due to the ongoing wildfires.
    – If your property has been damaged or destroyed or its value has decreased in any way before January 1, you may file an application for a Decline-in-Value-Review.
    – The filing period is from July 2 through November 30.
    – If your property was subject to Prop 13 provisions, those will remain in effect post-disaster.
  1. SBA – Disaster relief for businesses.https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance/california-wildfiresIncluding: Home Disaster Loans (https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance/physical-damage-loans#id-home-and-personal-property-loans)
    Physical Damage Loans
    https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance/physical-damage-loans#id-business-physical-disasterEconomic Injury Disaster Loans: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance/economic-injury-disaster-loans
  1. FEMA
    – Disaster Relief – assistance filing for relief, finding other resources such as shelters, Red Cross, and field processing centers of FEMA claims : https://www.disasterassistance.gov/To find the closest disaster relief processing center, see: https://egateway.fema.gov/ESF6/DRCLocator
  1. HUD – Housing Relief – Including:
    • 90-day moratorium on mortgage foreclosures
    • Providing insurance to disaster victims and a 90-day extension granted automatically for home equity conversion mortgages.
  1. FinCEN – FBAR Extension of deadlines for taxpayers with foreign accounts. https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-provides-fbar-relief-victims-recent-natural-disasters
  1. CDTFA – Extensions to file for excise and sales tax, special tax categories. https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/services/state-of-emergency-tax-relief.htm#counties
  1. EDD– How to process an unemployment claim during ongoing disasters: https://edd.ca.gov/en/unemployment/Disaster_Unemployment_Assistance/
  1. Los Angeles City – Wildfire Recovery Resources – Emergency Management Dept https://emergency.lacity.gov/recovery

Much-Needed FAQs

Instead of answering questions that have been asked all the time, we offer a few questions that should be asked. If asked, the questions would save you a lot of time and trouble. Trust us.

A: To obtain a copy of your IRS transcripts, you have several options (that will cost nothing, too).

  1. Online: Visit the IRS website (www.irs.gov) and use the “Get Transcript” tool. You can view and download your transcript immediately after verifying your identity.
  2. Phone: Call the IRS automated phone transcript service at 800-908-9946 to request a transcript be mailed to you.
  3. Mail: Complete and submit Form 4506-T or Form 4506T-EZ to request a transcript by mail.
  4. Mobile App: Use the IRS2Go phone app to order a transcript.

A: With our recent activities, audits, and involvement with the IRS / BSA audits, we’ve determined that the IRS / BSA is interested in the cannabis industry.

Effective January 1st, 2024, generally, all 8300 filings must be electronic. Additionally, be aware that there are special year-end considerations for reporting 8300s issued during the year.