The claim: Image shows directed energy weapons caused 2025 wildfires in Los Angeles
A Jan. 8 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a fast-food restaurant that burned down in a wooded area.
“This is a McDonalds (sic) in California that was just destroyed by a forest fire,” the post reads. “You can see the forest said to be responsible in the background. Just dew it.”
The acronym DEW is an apparent reference to directed energy weapons.
The post also includes an image of the fictional Dr. Evil character from the “Austin Powers” film series gesturing air quotes with text in the image that reads, “‘Forest fires.'”
It was shared more than 100 times in two days.
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Our rating: False
The causes of the Los Angeles fires had not been announced as of Jan. 10. There is no credible evidence that the fires were caused by directed energy weapons, which have repeatedly – and falsely – been linked to high-profile wildfires for years.
No evidence directed energy weapons caused California wildfires
The claim was made as multiple deadly fires burned across the Los Angeles area, leaving more than 10,000 structures damaged or destroyed and at least 10 people dead as of Jan. 10.
But the post is wrong in its claim that the image shows a McDonald’s restaurant that was “just destroyed” in a California fire. The restaurant in the image was burned in the 2018 Camp Fire in the Northern California town of Paradise. The news outlet WHYY included the image, taken by an Associated Press photographer, in a 2018 report about the blaze.
There is also no evidence directed energy weapons caused the 2025 fires in Southern California. There have been no credible government or news reports about such a determination. The causes of the fires (Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, Lidia, Sunset, Kenneth and Archer) remain under investigation as of Jan. 10, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the state’s firefighting agency.
Fact check: Was Hollywood Sign surrounded by fire? No, this image is fabricated
Directed energy weapons use concentrated electromagnetic energy to damage or destroy enemy targets, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Social media users have repeatedly – and falsely – linked these weapons to high-profile fires over the years. USA TODAY debunked similar claims about wildfires in Hawaii and Texas.
A broken electrical transmission line caused the 2018 fire that devastated Paradise. That fire destroyed more than 18,000 structures and killed 85 people.
USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-check sources
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California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, accessed Jan. 10, Incidents
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No evidence directed energy weapons caused LA wildfires | Fact check
