This study analyzes the effects of wildfire and post-fire vegetation recovery in Southern California through a remote sensing-based case study of the Eaton and Palisades Fires that ignited on January 7th, 2025.

The study includes two assessments:

1. Post-Fire Burn Severity

2. Four-Month Vegetation Recovery

Post-Fire Burn Severity was calculated using Landsat 8/9 satellite imagery from January 6th (Pre-Fire) and January 14th (Post-Fire) using Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) and its differenced form (dNBR). Burn severity classification was derived from dNBR.

Four-Month Vegetation Recovery was calculated using Landsat 8/9 satellite imagery from January 14th to May 30th using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and its differenced form (dNDVI). Vegetation Recovery classification was derived from dNDVI.

Key Findings:

• The total area burned for Eaton Fire was 14,070 acres and Palisades Fire was 23,442.

• Results showed that 76% of the Eaton Fire area and 86% of the Palisades Fire area experienced low to high burn severity.

• However, vegetation regrowth differed drastically: only 25% of burned land from Eaton fire showed signs of regrowth, compared to 74% in Palisades.