{"id":2472798,"date":"2025-08-09T13:37:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T17:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-claims-l-a-wildfire-deaths-could-be-way-off-original-number-may-barely-scratch-the-surface\/"},"modified":"2025-08-09T13:38:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T17:38:53","slug":"report-claims-l-a-wildfire-deaths-could-be-way-off-original-number-may-barely-scratch-the-surface","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-claims-l-a-wildfire-deaths-could-be-way-off-original-number-may-barely-scratch-the-surface\/","title":{"rendered":"Report Claims L.A. Wildfire Deaths Could Be Way Off \u2013 Original Number &#8216;May Barely Scratch the Surface&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Freport-claims-l-a-wildfire-deaths-could-be-way-off-original-number-may-barely-scratch-the-surface%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2472798&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exhausted-every-option-crews-switching-to-recovery-effort-as-condo-collapse-death-toll-grows\/\" title=\"\u2018Exhausted Every Option\u2019: Crews Switching To Recovery Effort As Condo Collapse Death Toll Grows\">official death toll<\/a> from the recent wildfires in Los Angeles County is reported as 31. however, new research suggests that this number significantly underestimates the true impact. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association estimates that approximately 440 excess deaths occurred during the four weeks starting January 5, when the fires began-more than 14 times the official count. <\/p>\n<p>Researchers attribute these excess deaths not only too direct fire exposure but also to indirect factors such as <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >exacerbated existing health conditions<\/a> and disruptions in medical and mental health services. Delays in treatments like dialysis and cancer therapies, as well as increased stress and depression, likely contributed to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/viral-video-weeping-afgani-girl-no-one-cares-about-us-well-die-slowly-in-history\/\" title=\"Viral Video: Weeping Afgani Girl: \u2018No One Cares About Us. We\u2019ll Die Slowly In History\u2019\">higher mortality rate<\/a>. Older adults were especially vulnerable due to mobility issues and preexisting conditions.<\/p>\n<p>The wildfires destroyed over 12,000 homes, businesses, and historic properties across Los Angeles. The city&#8217;s response faced criticism, highlighting issues such as firefighters running out of water because of outdated infrastructure and the mayor&#8217;s budget cuts to the fire department prior to the fires. The study&#8217;s authors emphasize that current death tallies probably miss many wildfire-related fatalities, especially indirect deaths, suggesting a need to reconsider how wildfire mortality is counted and reported.  <\/p>\n<div id=\"ld-4686-3758\"><\/div>\n<p><script>(function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:14832835450050406,size:[0, 0],id:\"ld-4686-3758\"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/cdn2.decide.dev\/_js\/ajs.js\";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,\"script\",\"ld-ajs\");<\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>30The official death toll from the devastating Los Angeles County wildfires earlier this year stands at 31.<\/p>\n<p>But new research says that count &ldquo;may barely scratch the surface,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/la\/article\/la-wildfire-death-toll-undercount-20804006.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according<\/a> to a report by SFGate.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jama\/article-abstract\/2837351\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study<\/a> published Aug. 6 in the Journal of the American Medical Association estimates that 440 excess deaths occurred during the same time horizon.<\/p>\n<p>That figure is more than 14 times the official count.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers analyzed all-cause mortality data from a four-week window starting Jan. 5, when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/dei-cripple-la-fire-departments-response-wildfires-know\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the fires<\/a> began.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>The fires torched more than 12,000 homes, businesses, and other structures from Altadena to the Pacific Palisades, including historic Hollywood properties.<\/p>\n<p>Study co-author Andrew Stokes, an epidemiologist at Boston University, said the findings show the blazes likely caused far more deaths than published counts would indicate.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The official estimates are barely scraping the surface,&rdquo; Stokes told SFGate. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s likely to be a massive undercount when it comes to wildfire deaths.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The study grouped the deaths into three categories: direct deaths from fire exposure, deaths that might have been caused by exacerbated existing health conditions, and deaths due to disrupted medical and mental health services.<\/p>\n<p>Stokes noted that indirect deaths can come from delays in dialysis, interrupted cancer treatments, or even elevated stress and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/top-biden-fundraisers-report-depression-strategy-goes-smoke\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">depression<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The study ultimately suggested current death tallies might be way off and that secondary deaths should be considered.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very hard for a medical examiner or an attending physician to know the circumstances,&rdquo; Stokes said.<\/p>\n<p>He added that many potential victims could later be counted in cancer or cardiorespiratory data.<\/p>\n<p>Older adults were especially impacted, according to the study, due to mobility challenges and preexisting conditions.<\/p>\n<p>The city&rsquo;s response to the fires has drawn immense scrutiny and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-gets-tough-los-angeles-clean-going\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">criticism<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Firefighters ran out of water in some areas due to outdated infrastructure and a key reservoir being offline.<\/p>\n<p>Los Angeles Democratic Mayor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/la-mayor-karen-bass-goes-new-extreme-bid-protect-illegal-aliens\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Karen Bass<\/a> had slashed $17.6 million from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-los-angeles-earthquake-shakes-espn-studio-forces-host-to-take-things-into-her-own-hands\/\" title=\"Watch: ... Earthquake Shakes ESPN Studio, Forces Host to Take Things Into Her Own Hands\">fire department&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s budget despite warnings from Chief Kristin Crowley, whom she later fired.<\/p>\n<p>Bass was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/karen-bass-need-investigate-didnt-know-shouldnt-go-ghana-wildfire-disaster\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in Ghana<\/a> when the fires began and was perceived as ill-prepared to address the disaster upon her return.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The official death toll from the severe Los Angeles County wildfires earlier this year is 31. However, new research suggests that this number &#8220;may barely scratch the surface,&#8221; according to a report by SFGate. A study published on August 6 in the Journal of the American Medical Association estimates that there were actually 440 excess deaths during the same period-more than 14 times higher than the official figure. Researchers examined all-cause mortality data over a four-week span starting January 5, when the fires began<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2472799,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/LA-Fire-Home.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[60982,36585,22644,60981],"class_list":["post-2472798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-disaster-report","tag-los-angeles","tag-wildfire","tag-wildfire-deaths"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/LA-Fire-Home.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2472798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2472798"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2472798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2472802,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2472798\/revisions\/2472802"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2472799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2472798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2472798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2472798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}