A year-old clip of a plane crashing near the Chilean city of Talca has resurfaced online in connection to firefighting efforts underway in Los Angeles.

Al Jazeera posted a similar clip showing the crash in January 2024, predating the California wildfires by a year.

An illegal drone collided with a plane fighting Los Angeles fires on January 9, but there have been no reports of a crash involving such an aircraft, contrary to claims on social media. Dramatic footage spread online showing a plane plunging to the ground was in fact filmed in Chile in January 2024.

The article noted that the video was from Chile and not Los Angeles, as claimed. We, then, ran relevant keyword searches and found that Al Jazeera also uploaded the same video on their YouTube page on 16 January 2024. It noted that the crash claimed the life of the pilot and at least four people were injured.

POV video shared on social media showed a firefighter extinguishing flames in a house in Chile, not California, contrary to claims online.

India Today found that the video has nothing to do with the Los Angeles wildfires. This January 2024 video is from the South American country Chile.

The footage in the post is not associated with the Los Angeles wildfires that began in January 2025. It was posted online before the fires started. Multiple Los Angeles area wildfires broke out in early January and continue to burn. Collectively, these fires have killed at least 25 and burned thousands of structures.

Somini Sengupta, a climate reporter who has lived across Los Angeles, reflects on the city, its mythology and its reckoning with disaster.

L.A.'s wildfire recovery may be on a collision course with Trump's immigration policy. Southern California's construction industry is heavily reliant on immigrant labor.

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Somini Sengupta, a Times climate reporter, reflects on a city, its mythology and a reckoning with disaster.