Social media users have shared a video in which high-rising flames and utmost destruction are blatantly visible. While sharing the video, the users have claimed that illegal Diwali celebrations in the USA by the Indians have sparked the Palisades fire, killing 18 and destroying 200 homes
Fact check:
The DFRAC team looked into this claim and reverse searched the video. Based on the investigation, the video featuring high-rising flames and utter destruction is not related to Diwali celebrations as claimed. But it is actually old footage from a devastating wildfire incident on the Pacific Coast Highway in Southern California, dated around January 2025.
According to news reports, which can be viewed here and here, this catastrophic event resulted in widespread destruction, loss of acres of property, and deaths of nearly 30,000 Los Angeles inhabitants, including celebrities. Official details regarding the wildfire can be viewed here.
Conclusion:
The social media users’ claim is false since the video, which features footage of a true disaster from the January 2025 wildfires in Southern California, is misrepresented and falsely labeled as a festive occasion.
