Elon Musk announced that SpaceX will donate Starlink terminals to the region impacted by raging wildfires in southern California.
“SpaceX will provide free Starlink terminals to affected areas in LA tomorrow morning,” Musk wrote in a post on X on Wednesday evening.
The SpaceX CEO was responding to a post on X that featured a video of a local journalist reporting on the fires. The reporter stated that local television crews are using SpaceX’s Starlink to broadcast their live coverage of the wildfires in Los Angeles.
Any communication wouldn’t be possible without it, the reporter said.
“The only reason you’re able to see us right now is because of Starlink,” she stated. “There’s absolutely no cell service at all in this whole area.”
Starlink is the world’s most advanced internet system, according to its official website, and provides high-speed internet connectivity in the most remote locations or underserved areas. Instead of traditional cell towers or cables, Starlink relies on thousands of low-orbit satellites to operate. The technology is vital during emergencies such as wildfires for victims or first responders who couldn’t otherwise communicate.
Starlink recently provided free service to victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. SpaceX has also deployed Starlink to conflict zones such as Gaza and Ukraine.
The wildfires are now threatening key communications infrastructure in Los Angeles. By noon local time, flames from the Eaton Fire were creeping dangerously close to Mount Wilson, where television and radio transmission towers are located. Local media outlets use those towers to transmit their daily broadcasts.
“As you may have seen on the news, the Eaton fire is approaching Mount Wilson. There are firefighters on the grounds but the power is out at the Observatory so communication is limited,” the official account for Mount Wilson Observatory stated on X.
Musk has weighed in on the California wildfires, outlining ways that blazes could have been prevented and sharing a one-minute video from a friend that showed some of the devastation left behind.
At least five people have died in the wildfires, according to officials.