California In Photos 2025: The Images That Defined Our Year

The year 2025 was explosive in California, to say the least.

The year got off to a catastrophic start on Jan. 7 near Pacific Palisades, when 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht is accused of starting a fire that eventually turned into the Palisades Fire, one of the deadliest fires in California history. Rinderknecht, a former resident of the Palisades, pleaded not guilty in October.

The fire burned roughly 23,448 acres across Pacific Palisades and the surrounding hills, resulting in the destruction of over 6,800 structures, and damage to many more.

Tens of thousands of people were evacuated, and many returned to find their homes reduced to ashes. 12 people were confirmed dead and several more were injured in the fire.

Jan. 7 was also the day that the Eaton Fire ignited, possibly due to high winds and power lines, though the case remains under investigation. The fire burned roughly 14,000 acres as Santa Ana winds pushed it across the area near Altadena, Sierra Madre and Pasadena. Hundreds of thousands were evacuated. The deadly fires destroyed about 9,400 structures, and 19 people were confirmed killed, with many more injured or missing.

Just as the fires were finally put out, unrest hit. Donald Trump was inaugurated presidents, and promptly ordered deportation raids across the country. Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement showed up all over the state, arresting 8,460 people between January and June. In June, ICE agents focused their attention on Los Angeles, and arrested roughly 2,700 people in Los Angeles alone, particularly around Home Depot locations.

The raids sparked widespread protests and condemnations, including from leaders like Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

On June 6, roughly 1,000 people protested in Los Angeles, prompting Trump to unilaterally call in roughly 4,100 National Guard members and Marines. This marked the first time in decades that a president called in national troops without the approval of the state governor. At the time, 575 people were arrested over the course of the protest period. A federal judge recently ruled against Trump's deployment of the National Guard, and the issue will soon go before the Supreme Court.

That same month, hundreds of thousands of Californians made their displeasure clear by taking part in hundreds of No Kings protests across the state. On Oct. 18, even more people gathered for a second round of No Kings protests that saw well over 200,00 participants.

Displeasure toward Trump continued at the ballot box after Gov. Gavin Newsom called a special election to counter congressional redistricting in Texas. Proposition 50, which passed Nov. 4 with 64.4% of the vote statewide, authorized the state to temporarily replace its current congressional map with a new map that will be used in 2026, 2028, and 2030. The new map is expected to give California five new seats in the House to cancel out the new seats obtained by the Texas redistricting.

Unrest continued in other forms throughout the year. In February, tens of thousands of University of California workers from two major unions walked out, citing unfair labor practices and contract negotiations. Smaller UC walkouts occurred later in November.

In October, 31,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses and other healthcare staff took part in a five-day strike, advocating for better wages, full staffing, and safer patient care conditions. On Nov. 13, Starbucks' lucrative "Red Cup Day," the Starbucks Workers United union launched an open-ended strike demanding better staffing, wages, and resolutions of unfair labor practice complaints. The actions extended throughout November.

Californians experienced a moment of joy (though some in NorCal and San Diego may disagree) when the Los Angeles Dodgers narrowly defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in extra innings to win a 5-4 World Series victory. The win marked the Dodgers' ninth World Series and the first repeat championship in franchise history. The team became the first team since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees to win the World Series two years in a row. After a hard year, it was a win the Golden State really needed.