Starlink's role in last year's Los Angeles fires

Los Angeles area fires, January 2025 (source)

As shown above, the largest and most costly were the Palisades fire by the ocean and the Eaton fire, roughly 25 or 30 miles apart -- separated by the city of Los Angeles and surrounded by many smaller Los Angeles County cities.  Grok estimates that the fires covered around 57,529 acres.

As power outages and fire-related damage knocked out cell service and terrestrial internet in many areas, Starlink, in conjunction with Tesla and T-Mobile, provided an alternative means of connectivity for residents, journalists, firefighters, and other emergency personnel. 

Elon Musk delivering Starlink kits (source)

SpaceX donated 1,350 standard and mini Starlink kits to public safety agencies, disaster relief non-profits, and frontline emergency personnel. The front-line personnel received portable, backpack-sized mini kits while the standard kits were installed at fixed locations.  While these kits were donated, SpaceX received publicity and goodwill, and Elon Musk was very visible.

In addition to these kits, SpaceX provided one month of free service for customers in areas affected by the fires. (Note that the eligible region included areas like downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica, which were only indirectly affected by the fire).

Tesla lent eight Cybertrucks that acted as mobile Starlink Wi-Fi hotspots with Internet connectivity for both residents and emergency operations where terrestrial networks had failed. They also provided electrical power via their batteries for equipment at command posts and other locations suffering power loss. Some reportedly brought water, snacks, and supplies to support first responders and community members. Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Adam Van Gerpen said the trucks were  “essential for our public information officers and our incident commanders, even for our strike teams who are out there trying to communicate. We have radio communications, but this will enable cell phone and wireless communication.”

T-Mobile offered temporary unlimited talk, text, and data to customers in affected areas and activated Starlink direct-to-cellular (DTC) service, which had not yet been beta tested. This enabled SMS messaging, emergency alert receipt, and texting to 911 on compatible phones when cell towers were offline or power was out.

 

"The only reason you are able to see us right now is
because of the Starlink connection we just got today." Source

Perhaps the most valuable role for Starlink was in providing news media connectivity, enabling journalists to report on the fire to the general public in and outside of threatened areas, was kept aware of the situation.

Satellite emergency response will improve

DTC has now rolled out, and it will improve. New Satellites will take advantage of the FCC allowing Starlink’s DTC service to operate at higher power, enabling faster, more reliable service. We can also look forward to low-speed mobile data and voice communication in the future. This service will be ubiquitous and will enable firefighters and others to access fire-status maps, weather information, equipment, and personnel inventory and location, etc. Next-generation satellites with more power will also perform better in areas with trees and atmospheric humidity.

Industry initiatives (3GPP NTN standards) are aligning satellite and cellular networks so that phones can seamlessly switch between terrestrial and satellite links — crucial for full voice and data over space networks.

The Ukraine war dramatically demonstrated the value of drones using Starlink to surveil a battlefield and attack enemies. One can imagine Starlink-connected drones playing a similar role in fighting fires, with drones continuously streaming fire location and spread data and the locations of firefighters and fire-fighting assets to command centers who direct operations.

The response of SpaceX and Tesla to last year's California fires was ad hoc. For example, the eight Cybertrucks mentioned above were temporarily diverted from planned deliveries to customers. Establishing systems and relationships within Starlink (and its competitors) and between them and emergency-response organizations will be even more important than new technology. Stable bureaucratic procedure will replace ad hoc improvisation. (SpaceX has taken steps in this direction.) Also expect to see new equipment standards. For example, all fire trucks will have Starlink (or Amazon LEO, Qianfan, etc.) dishes.

This may sound expensive, but Grok estimates the Los Angeles fires cost $250 million to fight and $28-53.8 billion in property damage, and a Helsinki University study concluded that the wildfires contributed to at least 440 deaths.