Can LA host the 2028 Olympics after wildfire destruction?

Since January 7, Los Angeles has been ravaged by devastating wildfires. Unusual for the middle of winter, these fires have already reduced more than 16,000 hectares to ashes, destroying entire neighborhoods and killing at least 27 people. To date, firefighters are still battling the flames, now 50% contained.

Weather data platform AccuWeather, cited by Business Insider, estimates that the damage could total between $250 billion and $275 billion.

As the city of Los Angeles prepares to welcome millions of athletes, spectators and officials for the 2028 Olympic Games, concerns are rife regarding the organization of the global event.

So far, none of the 80 announced Olympic venues have been directly affected by the fires. However, the flames have come dangerously close to the Rose Bowl, the stadium where the football matches will be played, and the Riviera Country Club, where the golf events are scheduled to take place.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, slated to become the Olympic Village in 2028, "has all but emptied out amid poor air quality."

Although the sports facilities were spared this time, the risk of future fires remains high due to global warming. In such a dry region, catastrophes of this magnitude could recur, particularly in the summer, when the Games, scheduled for 14-30 July 2028, will take place.

Mike Bonin, a former city council member who supported the 2017 Olympics, called the wildfires a “nightmare scenario,” The New York Times reported. “It calls into question the city’s ability to deliver the Olympics,” he said. “This is cause for elected officials to ask themselves the question: Is this something we can handle?”

Several conservatives have criticized Karen Bass, the Democratic mayor of Los Angeles, for her handling of the fires. They have also pointed the finger at the water management of California Governor Gavin Newsom, also a Democrat and fiercely opposed to Donald Trump.

On social media site X, conservative activist Charlie Kirk (pictured) argued that the Los Angeles Olympics should be cancelled. "If you can't fill a fire hydrant, you're not qualified to host the Olympics," he wrote, while calling for the event to be moved to "Dallas or Miami" so that "the world's athletes can compete in a place capable of actually safely building and running something."

But concerns are not limited to the Republican camp. Some voices point to the difficulties of organizing an event of this magnitude, whose cost is estimated at $7 billion, while undertaking the reconstruction of devastated neighborhoods.

For Jadrian Wooten, a professor at Virginia Tech interviewed by the New York Times, the key question in the coming months will be how Los Angeles' financial resources will be divided between "revitalizing areas for the Olympics" and "responding to destruction from future wildfires."

The New York Times estimates that when the Olympic Games begin in three and a half years, the host city will still be in the midst of reconstruction.

Casey Wasserman, chairman of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games organizing committee, prefers to remain optimistic. “Los Angeles is defined by its resilience and determination,” he said in a statement cited by The New York Times. “The strength of our communities and our unity in tough times make this city extraordinary, and when Los Angeles welcomes the world in 2028, our spirit will shine brighter than ever before.”

For his part, President Trump expressed his support for LA 2028 officials, saying: "These are America's Olympics. These are more important than ever to LA and I'm going to be supportive in every way possible to make them the greatest Games" in history, reports the news site Axios, citing a meeting between him and Casey Wasserman at Mar-a-Lago on January 15.

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