Fire, wind, and lies: Mapping the metaphorical landscape of the January 2025 Southern California wildfires

Abstract In January 2025, devastating wildfires affected Southern California. The timing and iconic nature of these wildfires, which destroyed the properties of high-profile celebrities, created a unique opportunity to examine how metaphors function at the intersection of climate communication, celebrity culture, and public response. Various studies have analysed the metaphorical framing of extreme events, such as floods and fires, as well their implications for public and policy responses. The present study of 135 articles published in the Los Angeles Times between 7 and 17 of January 2025, the initial phase of the fires, revealed four types of metaphors, with the majority mapping what people know about human, animal, or mythical agents or objects (source domain) onto fires (target domain) and a minority mapping aspects of fires (source domain) onto human action (target domain). The first type of mapping structures conventional metaphors, situation-specific metaphors, and creative explanatory climate-informed metaphors, while the second structures fire metaphors used to frame the spread of misinformation surrounding the wildfires. The analysis revealed a shifting metaphorical landscape of conventional and situation-specific metaphors where natural forces and human behaviours are represented through interconnected conceptual frameworks. They can be used both to enhance and hinder public and policy responses to extreme and novel weather events.