“All three California wild fires seem to start at the same time!”

As the causes of three wildfires in greater Los Angeles remained under investigation, a recent Instagram post posited that they were set deliberately because, according to the post, they started in sync. 

“How strange all three California wild fires seem to start at the same time!” the Jan. 8 post said. “Coincidence? Or intentional?!?!?”

The post included a video that appeared to show three fires starting and growing at the same time. 

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

First off: The Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires in California didn’t start at the same time, though they did spark on the same date — Jan. 7. 

The Palisades fire was first reported at 10:30 a.m., according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Eaton fire was first reported at 6:18 p.m. and the Hurst fire was first reported at 10:29 p.m.

“The size and scale of these fires was largely driven by extreme red flag warning conditions,” the Forestry and Fire Protection Department said in a statement in response to PolitiFact’s questions about the post. 

And the agency noted another important point: The video purportedly showing those fires starting doesn’t reflect reality. 

“The map in the social media post is also not representative of the geographical area where the fires occurred,” the statement said. 

The footage in the video was from a satellite that captured the smoke from three Southern California wildfires in September 2024. 

Smoke from the Bridge, Airport and Line fires grew and blended into “one giant plume,” a Los Angeles ABC News affiliate reported at the time. 

But these fires started on different days, according to NASA. The Bridge fire started Sept. 8, the Line fire started Sept. 5 and the Airport fire started Sept. 9.

The Bridge fire’s cause is still under investigation, according to the forestry department. Equipment caused the Airport fire, and the Line fire started with arson. NBC News reported in September that authorities believe the suspect set two other fires the same day.

We rate this Instagram post about the greater Los Angeles fires False.