Jacob Soboroff, senior political and national reporter for MSNBC, will discuss and sign his new book "Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America's New Age of Disaster" on Wednesday, March 4 at 6 p.m. at the Santa Monica Library in the MLK Jr. Auditorium.
The free event is presented in partnership with the Santa Monica Library, Friends of the Santa Monica Public Library and the Friends of the Palisades Library.
Soboroff's book chronicles the January 2025 fires that devastated Los Angeles, including the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire in Altadena. The fires became personal for Soboroff when his brother texted him on the morning of Jan. 7, 2025, with news that he and his pregnant wife were evacuating as flames engulfed the hillside behind their home.
"I should go. I grew up in the Palisades," Soboroff told his bureau chief before heading to the front lines of what would become weeks of coverage documenting the destruction.
In the aftermath, Soboroff conducted months of reporting with firefighters, fire victims, political leaders, academics, earth scientists, wildlife biologists and meteorologists. His investigation explores how the disaster occurred and whether similar events are inevitable.
One senior emergency management official described the 2025 fires as "the fire of the future," a harbinger of what Soboroff calls "America's new age of disaster."
The book examines what became the costliest wildfire in American history while serving as what the author describes as "a love letter to Los Angeles."
Soboroff is also the author of the New York Times bestseller "Separated: Inside an American Tragedy," which was adapted into an acclaimed film by Academy Award-winner Errol Morris. His reporting on the Trump administration's child separation policy earned him the Walter Cronkite Award for Individual Achievement by a National Journalist, the Hillman Prize for Broadcast Journalism and a Yale University Poynter Fellowship in Journalism.
Free seating is limited. To reserve a seat, attendees must purchase one copy of the book per seat. Reservation holders are encouraged to arrive early to guarantee seating. Standby guests will be seated as space allows 10 minutes before the event.
To reserve a seat: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/santa-monica-public-library-presents-jacob-soboroff-tickets-1983563196918
Underground parking is available via the 7th Street driveway across from the Fire Department. The first half hour is free, and the library provides an additional one-hour free validation ticket.
Edited by SMDP Staff