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Torched: How a City Was Left to Burn, and the Olympic Rush to Rebuild L.A.
CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti’s searing firsthand account of the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, the failures that fueled the catastrophe, and the high-stakes battle over how the city will rebuild ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games.
In Torched, Vigliotti brings readers inside the inferno that devastated Los Angeles, weaving on-the-ground reporting with the deeper story of how a century of unchecked development and political mismanagement set the stage for disaster. With clarity and verve, he recounts the chaos of the fire, the flawed emergency response, and the human stories of survival and loss in the city he loves.
But this is more than a chronicle of destruction. Vigliotti unravels this catastrophe by placing it within the larger history of Los Angeles, a city that has in many ways been defined by its attraction to reinvention and deference to those who “move fast and break things”—an impulse that now puts it at risk of a short-sighted post-fire rebuild in the run-up to the 2028 Olympic Games. A future that might maximize profits but could potentially do too little to prevent similar disasters in the future or address the rampant inequities this blaze brought to global attention.
Urgent, unflinching, and deeply reported, Torched captures Los Angeles at a turning point—and reveals why its choices matter for us all.
In Torched, Vigliotti brings readers inside the inferno that devastated Los Angeles, weaving on-the-ground reporting with the deeper story of how a century of unchecked development and political mismanagement set the stage for disaster. With clarity and verve, he recounts the chaos of the fire, the flawed emergency response, and the human stories of survival and loss in the city he loves.
But this is more than a chronicle of destruction. Vigliotti unravels this catastrophe by placing it within the larger history of Los Angeles, a city that has in many ways been defined by its attraction to reinvention and deference to those who “move fast and break things”—an impulse that now puts it at risk of a short-sighted post-fire rebuild in the run-up to the 2028 Olympic Games. A future that might maximize profits but could potentially do too little to prevent similar disasters in the future or address the rampant inequities this blaze brought to global attention.
Urgent, unflinching, and deeply reported, Torched captures Los Angeles at a turning point—and reveals why its choices matter for us all.
- GenresNonfiction
320 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 12, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 22, 2026
I never write reviews, but as someone impacted by this fire, I found this book to precisely articulate the devastation and profound sense of abandonment experienced by the community with a clarity and depth I have never encountered elsewhere. I could not be more grateful to this reporter for his relentless investigation into the honest unfolding of events. I truly commend the personal risk he took in his efforts to rescue homes and animals while documenting the unseen realities of the disaster, the desertion of an entire town as generations of history, identity, and memories were reduced to ash, and the people and pets that burned alive while waiting for help that never came.
This work gives voice to those enduring the isolating, unrelenting aftermath of catastrophe. While public officials projected a reassuring and deeply misleading narrative to the outside world, those directly affected were left to witness the systematic distortion of their lived reality in service of political self-preservation. As homes continued to burn and lives continued to be lost, politicians we once advocated for and believed in celebrated their preparation and response as the most robust and effective in the state’s history.
Experiencing this tragedy fundamentally altered my understanding of disasters and mass casualty events. It revealed not only how profoundly grief and psychological trauma persist long after public attention has faded, but also how such crises expose the failures, ingenuity, and corruption embedded within political and institutional systems. I strongly recommend this book to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the realities of catastrophe, and the disillusionment caused by even larger-scale tragedies unfolding across the world.
This work gives voice to those enduring the isolating, unrelenting aftermath of catastrophe. While public officials projected a reassuring and deeply misleading narrative to the outside world, those directly affected were left to witness the systematic distortion of their lived reality in service of political self-preservation. As homes continued to burn and lives continued to be lost, politicians we once advocated for and believed in celebrated their preparation and response as the most robust and effective in the state’s history.
Experiencing this tragedy fundamentally altered my understanding of disasters and mass casualty events. It revealed not only how profoundly grief and psychological trauma persist long after public attention has faded, but also how such crises expose the failures, ingenuity, and corruption embedded within political and institutional systems. I strongly recommend this book to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the realities of catastrophe, and the disillusionment caused by even larger-scale tragedies unfolding across the world.
May 28, 2026
Thank you @simon.audio @atriabooks @onesignalpub #partner for the gifted copies of this book!
WHEW. I’m going to have to take a deep breath before I write this because holy h*ll. What an epic failure California “leadership” was. I will say I feel like every Californian should probably read this book.
This was one of those nonfiction reads that left me fuming mad and this did not even affect me. I’m so angry for these people. My mind is absolutely blown at how many failures stacked on top of each other. Seems like this could have been prevented. I mean firetrucks headed in the wrong direction, no warnings sent out over a week in advance, no evacuation plans in place just to name a few, mayors tweeting about fixing homelessness vs alerting to the immediate disaster headed right towards them.
I can tell Jonathan researched this greatly. The detailed timeline of the events surrounding the catastrophic fires in the Palisades was very informational. I think the way he reports this information is done in a factual and educational way. It did not read like sensationalized disaster coverage. It felt carefully investigated and respectfully presented to the reader.
I will say the deeper I got into this book the more unbelievable it became. There were so many warning signs. There were endless failures in communication and poor decisions (or should I say no decisions?!) and lack of action happened leading up to the destruction. Reading all of these events lined up chronologically makes the situation feel even more devastating because so much of it feels preventable.
This isn’t even about political “teams” to me. It’s about leadership, emergency preparedness, accountability and the responsibility public officials have to the people depending on them during a crisis. The book really highlights the systems that failed residents over and over again when people needed help the most. Truly this book was mind blowing...and not in a good way.
As someone who doesn’t live in California, I was obviously aware of the fires when they happened but I had NO idea about the sheer level of detail and behind the scenes failures. That’s exactly why I think books like this matter.
One thing I appreciated was that author allows the facts and timelines to pretty much speak for themselves. He doesn’t have to overdramatize the situation because the reality of what happened is already devastating enough on its own. Of course the worst part of all this is thinking about the PEOPLE behind this. It's heart wrenching.
I think this book raises important questions about emergency response and the infrastructure that is put into place to prevent things like this. The leadership during this crisis failed miserably and were quite pathetic. I mean I have to hold back on what I really want to say here because I am infuriated reading this. I hope Ms. Bass can sleep in her house that didn't burn down at night just fine. I thought I knew what happened...turns out I wasn't even close.
WHEW. I’m going to have to take a deep breath before I write this because holy h*ll. What an epic failure California “leadership” was. I will say I feel like every Californian should probably read this book.
This was one of those nonfiction reads that left me fuming mad and this did not even affect me. I’m so angry for these people. My mind is absolutely blown at how many failures stacked on top of each other. Seems like this could have been prevented. I mean firetrucks headed in the wrong direction, no warnings sent out over a week in advance, no evacuation plans in place just to name a few, mayors tweeting about fixing homelessness vs alerting to the immediate disaster headed right towards them.
I can tell Jonathan researched this greatly. The detailed timeline of the events surrounding the catastrophic fires in the Palisades was very informational. I think the way he reports this information is done in a factual and educational way. It did not read like sensationalized disaster coverage. It felt carefully investigated and respectfully presented to the reader.
I will say the deeper I got into this book the more unbelievable it became. There were so many warning signs. There were endless failures in communication and poor decisions (or should I say no decisions?!) and lack of action happened leading up to the destruction. Reading all of these events lined up chronologically makes the situation feel even more devastating because so much of it feels preventable.
This isn’t even about political “teams” to me. It’s about leadership, emergency preparedness, accountability and the responsibility public officials have to the people depending on them during a crisis. The book really highlights the systems that failed residents over and over again when people needed help the most. Truly this book was mind blowing...and not in a good way.
As someone who doesn’t live in California, I was obviously aware of the fires when they happened but I had NO idea about the sheer level of detail and behind the scenes failures. That’s exactly why I think books like this matter.
One thing I appreciated was that author allows the facts and timelines to pretty much speak for themselves. He doesn’t have to overdramatize the situation because the reality of what happened is already devastating enough on its own. Of course the worst part of all this is thinking about the PEOPLE behind this. It's heart wrenching.
I think this book raises important questions about emergency response and the infrastructure that is put into place to prevent things like this. The leadership during this crisis failed miserably and were quite pathetic. I mean I have to hold back on what I really want to say here because I am infuriated reading this. I hope Ms. Bass can sleep in her house that didn't burn down at night just fine. I thought I knew what happened...turns out I wasn't even close.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I struggled to write this review because I was just so angry and devastated for everyone that this tragedy touched. There is a ton of information discussed in this book to unpack. Let me start by saying what a great balance of historical facts as well as more current information relevant to the subject matter this book has! It’s also important to note that the author lived the horror of this fire. I believe that insider’s perspective is very valuable to this story. I would also caution that the book draws several powerful emotions from the reader. There are some sensitive details regarding the aftermath of the fire that are difficult to read toward the ending of the book.
A recurring theme throughout the book is the political games that are played. This goes far beyond party lines and deep into budgets, allies, appearances, and self interests.
This tragedy was profound not only for the people of California, but for those around the country who watched helplessly as this community burned. I remember following along with the news and social media in real time as the Palisades fire raged. Many of the same thoughts I had then are described and amplified through the behind the scenes information gathered for this book. I remember being outraged when it was revealed that the Mayor of LA was not only out of the country, but unavailable to her constituents. Even more alarming is that given the warnings prior to her departure - even if she was unaware of them - she should have made arrangements for responsibilities of those filling in for her and their tasks. This book highlights the decision of the state to take over command of the fire from the local officials.
A powerful lesson highlighted by the details of this book is that no matter where the “blame” lies for this fire and how bad it was able to become, we can always learn from this experience and do our best to prevent something so horrific from happening again. However, it is also important to note that while rebuilding quickly was a focus, that should be done with caution as to prevent some of the issues experienced during this fire. Recovery and rebuilding appeared to be forced. California, known as the cancer cautious capital of the world with so many warnings and labels that’s it’s ridiculous, allowed people back and put a bandaid on the pollutants and contamination. PPE, mulch, and just covering things up is so symbolic and disgusting. Didn’t we learn from 9/11 about the pollutants that people were exposed to? I also took issue with the highlight at the end of the book that a lot of requests for information to be used in investigating the response to the fire and the days prior were delayed, ignored, or that no records were produced. This book was an amazingly powerful and well written account of a very devastating moment in our nation’s history. *Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!
A recurring theme throughout the book is the political games that are played. This goes far beyond party lines and deep into budgets, allies, appearances, and self interests.
This tragedy was profound not only for the people of California, but for those around the country who watched helplessly as this community burned. I remember following along with the news and social media in real time as the Palisades fire raged. Many of the same thoughts I had then are described and amplified through the behind the scenes information gathered for this book. I remember being outraged when it was revealed that the Mayor of LA was not only out of the country, but unavailable to her constituents. Even more alarming is that given the warnings prior to her departure - even if she was unaware of them - she should have made arrangements for responsibilities of those filling in for her and their tasks. This book highlights the decision of the state to take over command of the fire from the local officials.
A powerful lesson highlighted by the details of this book is that no matter where the “blame” lies for this fire and how bad it was able to become, we can always learn from this experience and do our best to prevent something so horrific from happening again. However, it is also important to note that while rebuilding quickly was a focus, that should be done with caution as to prevent some of the issues experienced during this fire. Recovery and rebuilding appeared to be forced. California, known as the cancer cautious capital of the world with so many warnings and labels that’s it’s ridiculous, allowed people back and put a bandaid on the pollutants and contamination. PPE, mulch, and just covering things up is so symbolic and disgusting. Didn’t we learn from 9/11 about the pollutants that people were exposed to? I also took issue with the highlight at the end of the book that a lot of requests for information to be used in investigating the response to the fire and the days prior were delayed, ignored, or that no records were produced. This book was an amazingly powerful and well written account of a very devastating moment in our nation’s history. *Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!
May 26, 2026
The book is written with a flowing literary style that makes it feel like a good novel rather than a hard fact accounting. I enjoyed reading it, but I found it odd that the author seemed to go out of his way to paint Kristin Crowley as a heroic figure, while at the same time finding fault with the LAFD's handling of the fire, especially when contrasted with Rick Caruso's private firefighters. I agree Karen Bass and her inept administration are the villains in this tale, but Crowley can hardly be considered a hero. I hope the grace the author extended her was rooted in facts not made clear in the book and not her status as LA's first gay woman fire chief, which wouldn't have crossed my mind had the author not made his own sexual orientation part of the story.
May 25, 2026
A Narrative as Intense as The Palisades Fire
On the morning of The Fire, my sister texted a photo of a small column of smoke just up the hill from her house in The Palisades, just below the Highlands. I called and said EVACUATE NOW ! She said “they” hadn’t issued an Evacuation Order yet. I repeated my command. It took them an hour to make it down the hill and into a hotel in Santa Monica … from which they were evacuated again the next morning. Vigliotti’s narrative of the events of those days in The Palisades is rendered all the more incomprehensible by his review of the antecedent Wolsey Fire: lessons that should have been learned but were ignored then, and are being ignored again.
On the morning of The Fire, my sister texted a photo of a small column of smoke just up the hill from her house in The Palisades, just below the Highlands. I called and said EVACUATE NOW ! She said “they” hadn’t issued an Evacuation Order yet. I repeated my command. It took them an hour to make it down the hill and into a hotel in Santa Monica … from which they were evacuated again the next morning. Vigliotti’s narrative of the events of those days in The Palisades is rendered all the more incomprehensible by his review of the antecedent Wolsey Fire: lessons that should have been learned but were ignored then, and are being ignored again.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was a thoroughly researched and well written book that covers the before, during, and after of these fires. It’s like an inside look at the flaws that contributed to the disaster as well as the history of the area. I thought I understood what happened but as I read this book I realized there was a lot I didn’t know. This was full of respectful reporting. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This powerful firsthand account examines the devastating 2025 Los Angeles wildfires and the institutional breakdowns that intensified the disaster. Jonathan Vigliotti, a national correspondent for CBS News, combines immersive field reporting with a sharp analysis of the political decisions behind the crisis, highlighting how the city’s accelerated push to prepare for the 2028 Olympic Games overshadowed long-term public safety and preparedness.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Shuster for the ARC.
Excellent, excellent, excellent !!! ... Quite an eye-opener on what really was happening in real-time... as an ex-Angeleno, it is heartbreaking to read how the city currently lacks effective leadership ...
Additional review comments to follow
Excellent, excellent, excellent !!! ... Quite an eye-opener on what really was happening in real-time... as an ex-Angeleno, it is heartbreaking to read how the city currently lacks effective leadership ...
Additional review comments to follow
May 28, 2026
Must read for the mayor of every city in America! Thriller-paced investigation into the 2025 Southern California fires that changed how life is lived in Los Angeles. Hard-hitting, fact-dropping journalism whose only agenda is understanding what went wrong.
May 22, 2026
Holy Moly! Wow! Unbelievable what we tolerate as a city.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews