By Jo Nova
The Los Angeles Fires seem to symbolize the great achievements of collectivist governance. It took decades to reach these Black Belt levels of incompetence: to weaponize the committees, neutralize the media, and to teach the people that fires are caused by hamburgers and stopped by solar panels.
Currently 150,000 people are still under evacuation orders in Los Angeles and some 10,000 buildings are estimated to have been destroyed. To twist the knife on the pain, some insurance companies have recently abandoned Californian clients due to a 1988 law called Proposition 103. The State government regulates price rises in insurance. It’s a form of price fixing. It means insurance companies can’t adjust their premiums to take the higher risks into account, so they do they only thing they can — stop offering insurance.
Then there is the irony that green activists have worked to stop fuel reduction burns. @MarioNawfal names the Sierra Club.
The Californian situation by Dennis Presiloski
In a form of Democrat maths — the LA mayor Karen Bass saved $18m from the fire department budget but the state lost $150 billion in damage (so far).
“The bluest people on the planet are going to flip vote red”
Adam Carolla points out that the areas that burnt were some of the wealthiest, most democrat-voting precincts in the country. “It’s about 80% Democrat” — who he predicts will flip red when they drown in regulations trying to rebuild.
What he doesn’t say is that these are often the most important donors who may abandon the party. It’s not the size of the votes that matter but the financial clout and cachet of the famous and wealthy that the Democrats will lose.
The guys in the $20 million dollar mansions on the beach are going to be “knee deep” in regulations. The deep blue democrat fire victims are going to spend years trying to obtain permits to rebuild their own homes and that will turn them into red voters. He names one couple that tried to get a permit to rebuild their home of 40 years on PCH (Pacific Coast Highway). In the end they gave up and moved. He says the point that got to Bill Maher (the comedian who seems so much more conservative lately) was the three year epic he went through to set up his solar panels on his house in Beverley Hills. “He was strangled by the regulations, the overreach.” “That’s when he turned against the government”.
These are wealthy people who love their homes. They love Malibu, they love the Palisades,… there is going to be a whole bunch of rich people and they want to build as fast as they can. From the time they go in and fill in the first form, til the time they get delivery of the first load of wood on their property will be three years.
Then there are the extras.
You want a swimming pool… it has to double hulled in case it leaks into the water table. Carson Daily had to build a swimming pool like a modern day oil tanker. It’ll just cost $500,000 for a swimming pool.
He’s in a hotel room, evacuated from his home at the time he did this, and he is swearing:
“You guys all voted for Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles. You all voted for Gavin Newsom, and now you f**ing get what you get. Now that your house is on fire.“
He doesn’t think the coastal commission of California will even let people rebuild on the beach. “They are in the business of getting you to leave …”
Accurate https://t.co/aS7f9mw5o6
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 9, 2025
It sounds outlandishly pessimistic, but Elon says “Accurate” and @StewMama71 agrees, saying: Only 25% of the houses burned in Malibu in 2018 Woolsey fire have been rebuilt.
Then there is the Oscar level Virtue Signalling:
Bureaucrats in California were so concerned about breaking glass ceilings they seemingly forgot their first priority.
Nothing quite sums up how far gone everything is than this — the assistant fire chief who blames the man caught in a fire for being in the wrong place:
LAFD Assistant Chief Kristine Larson:
“Am I able to carry your husband out of a fire? He got himself in the wrong place.” pic.twitter.com/BofTVr6dWP
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 9, 2025
Not only did the Assistant Chief of the LAFD say it — apparently other people edited that into a professional little promo clip. What were they all thinking?
Who does the woman in this video remind you of. Take note of the words and gestures:
https://www.newsweek.com/controlled-burns-california-forest-management-los-angeles-fires-2012492
50
That clueless donkey reminds me of the last Demorat VP and like her this idiot couldn’t and shouldn’t run a chook raffle.
60
I read that the Fire chief -Karen Bass sent a heap of fire equipment such as hoses, hose nozzles, fire hydrants, helmets, breathing masks etc to Ukraine as the fire department did not need them after her millions of dollars cuts and her DEI agenda (more female staff who did not need to be in the front line)
20
Yeah, it (she) did. Now, for my rant…
Never let Gov Newsom off the hook.
HE was the one that tore down at least FOUR dams to virtue-signal to American Indians so they could fish for salmon, for God’s sake.
HE was the one who diverted federal funds to build more reservoirs so he could use the funds for the “Train to Nowhere” which is a black hole for $$$$$.
HE was the one who made the Central Valley like a desert for the sake of the environmentalist movement for a 3” fish (delta smelt).
I could go on and on, but you get the picture.
I was born in 1951 in LA, just a few miles away from the Griffith Park Observatory, just east of it.
My friends and I rode our bikes (after school) and watched Dodger Stadium get built.
I watched my beloved state be absolutely destroyed by Democrat politicians over those many years.
About 8 years ago I’d finally had enough and moved to the free state of Arizona. Best decision of my life. One of the first things I did was to buy a pistol. Does anywhere have any idea of hard that would be in CA?
I know, first hand, a lot of those neighborhoods that are now reduced to ashes. I used to have friends living there.
One more thing: most, if not all of those homes that burned to the ground were uninsured.
All the big insurers pulled out of CA, again, because of Newsome’s policies.
And I can’t let the CA legislature off the hook here. They happily went right along.
If anyone here is reading this still live in CA, get the hell out NOW if you don’t want to get screwed over for the rest of your lives.
Unless the voters of CA finally wake the hell up, they will continue to get it good and hard. The blue districts of CA *vastly* outnumber the red. Unless that changes there is no hope whatsoever. And I don’t see that happening unless these “leaders” are called to account. But I don’t see the groundswell necessary to do that.
Maybe it’s karma finally calling. So pay attention to her. Get out while you still can…
40
Here’s an article on the insurances pulling out of CA
https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2025/01/10/insurance-industry-claps-back-at-kamalas-wildfire-claimsfalse-wrong-and-dangerous-n2184206
10
Also, there’s this one…
https://pjmedia.com/victoria-taft/2025/01/10/is-normal-the-the-2-at-the-la-mayors-office-is-suspended-because-of-an-fbi-investigation-n4935844
Yup..says it all.
00
Aaaand, one more on their water storage…
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/01/firestorm_of_incompetence_in_los_angeles_water_company_admits_their_big_reservoir_to_fight_fires_was_bone_dry.html
Pretty in-depth look…
00
Maui, the Blue Ridge Mountains around Asheville NC, and the now cindered area of LA, are all just about THE most primo real estate on the planet. (Total random coincidence.)
All three will likely be reoccupied by folk that can self insure and obtain private fire fighting.
Kinda’ like some people buy their own nuclear power plant.
And private police protection.
And their own private End of The World Luxury Survival Bunkers.
Because government is now incapable of taxing enough and making enough Byzantine regulations to provide basic services, fight Climate Change, and stop Donald Trump at the same time.
*Disclaimer:
Any implications contained in this comment are unimplied and unintended. And if they were they would be for recreational purposes only. Any conclusions implicated are the sole responsibility of the reader.
190
Jo , a very clear explanation of what brought them to this situation .Those hyper wealthy people lived in fabulous luxury and thought they knew better than the plebs . They voted for this . They also voted for a maze of rules that means that they will be homeless for the next 5 years unless they have the cash to buy in another state . The insurance companies had already fled from California , cancelling many policies in the last 6 months . Seems there was a shortage of insurance companies who were willing to take on such reckless risk . Those hypocrites probably thought that all the rules and restrictions they voted for would only apply to the peasants . I hope they enjoy the taste of their own medicine !
About every 10 years we have a major bushfire / fire storm followed by a royal commission which reminds the authorities of the importance of fuel reduction burns . They try for a couple of years to keep up with fuel reduction burns and then the screeching and wailing against the practice starts up again and soon the fuel levels build up to the point where it is too dangerous to burn even in mild weather . Then the next firestorm is pretty much locked in . They never learn .
280
The greenies stop cool burns and scrub clearing not by bans and protests but by manipulating and rewriting legislation, with the end result being it will take up to 3 years to get a burn off permit, so it doesn’t get done, or nature does it for them with predictable results.
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They most likely also thought they had a competent Fire Department who would turn up with sirens blaring and save the day.
How wrong they were.
70
It’s all fun and games when you are voting for rules that stop ‘other people’ building and drive up the value of your property, eh? But it ends in tears when you now have to build under the same rules.
I feel for the small percentage of republicans voters. The climate lunatics, not so much.
20
“You guys all voted for Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles. You all voted for Gavin Newsom, and now you f**ing get what you get. Now that your house is on fire.“
Maybe, but my gut feeling is that palms will be greased and permits will magically appear.
180
I agree.
Different strokes for different folks.
Purely on the basis of wealth and influence.
60
Apparently 71% of Pacific Palisades residents voted for Kamela.
60
Serves them right.
Shame about the damage to nature though.
20
The perfect (fire) storm . Orchestrated destruction , and the idiots in charge will pay the price this time . The outcome was always going to be this . The latest “great reset” event . Slowly then all of a sudden .
130
I think many more Demorats will head to Florida and in time will also try to destroy that state as soon as they can.
That’s just the nature of these lefty extremist idiots and know nothings. And that’s also why they BELIEVE we need to waste trillions of $ ASAP and have no measurable change to the climate or extreme events, or SLR or Polar bears or polar ice caps etc or anything else.
120
And in Florida they will come face to face with an average 15 Hurricanes a year. Which have been reclassified to Tropical storms so as not to frighten people away.
Texas to Illinois also get tornadoes. Others get blizzards. All get flooding.
I don’t think most Australians or Britons have much idea how dangerous the weather is in the US. In public swimming pools in Colarado, the lifeguard is watching his lightning detector, all of Colorado being roughly as high as Kosciousko. In winter temperatures of -40, you are risking your life going anywhere. There is even an inch of ice on the roads in Texas in Winter and the rain storms have to be seen to be believed. Lightning strikes are common in golf too. It’s a risk the spectators take at the US PGA.
The difference here is that it has hit ultra rich Democrat voters. And it’s all their fault.
140
You have a choice of your house being burnt or quaked on the west coast, blown away in the midwest, or drowned, flooded and blown away on the southeast coast.
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All it takes is a bit of determination.
20
Eight landfalls in one year is the max for the last 40 years that I’ve been a frequent evacuee, as my backyard is between 3 and 6 feet above sea level. 1.25 per year over cat 1 is the long term average. Tropical storms are tropical storms, and are usually more rain events that wind events though they do sometimes spawn tornedos. The classification has been stable for many years; you have to classify a single radar indicated gust in a thunderstorm to get to fifteen hurricanes; something a weather outfit that lies about temperature might do. (Sustained wind is the measure, and that which pushes storm surge, which is usually the biggest issue. Out local forecasts and weather coverage are spectacularly good, with state of the art and well trained people.
60
Yes, that’s the new definition of a hurricane, it now has to make landfall to qualify. But the storm surges, the low lying areas, the winds, a storm does not have to make landfall to be disastrous. And everyone is prepared for it, but it’s like a tornado. Sooner or later it hits you. Australia has such storms too, but the entire Northern Territory has a population of only 250,000 people, so a small chance it hits anywhere significant. Not so in Florida where the population is booming and some of the houses are really on sand bars called islands. In Australia we have no such storms, no snow, no tornadoes, no low lying areas and no howling winds. I found the Chinooks in Colorado quite amazing, three days of howling 100km/hr wind every year on the season change to summer. Then all the snow was gone. Such a wind would destroy our cities.
10
I once thought there couldn’t be any populace more stupid than Victoria, for continually voting back a leftist, socialist incompetent government. But then there’s California, with a population close to 40m.
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Yes, it’s amazing that both Sicktoria (Australia) and California continue to vote for woke Lunatic Left governments despite the extreme misery their incompetence, corruption and overspending causes.
140
In view of this self inflicted disaster I believe the Californian Democratic Party should sort it out single handed.
Republican representatives need to decline having candidates for the next State Election.
Make sure all those dim witted Democrat voters are stuck with the disaster & the perpetrators of that disaster.
Why would any sane Republican want to inherit the total mess created by the idiotic Democrat administration and their idiotic, smug, know it all electorate. They say California is upward of 80% Democrat. Right that’s what they wanted, now let the whole lot marinate in the juices of their folly.
I guess voters with other values & beliefs will simply have to move elsewhere..
100
Good idea. One repugnant site was that Newsome with his hair slicked back with his aviator sunglasses and clean pressed suit, looking like some mafia boss, talking on the phone getting into his oversized GMC with darkened bullet proof windows.
60
He just oozes that slick car dealer look.
Who would buy a used car from him.
20
looking like some mafia boss,
talkinglying about talking to Biden on the phone getting into his oversized GMFIFY
10
Because they just love ‘free stuff’ and also the opposition is just a pale imitation of the real thing, so might as well have the real thing.
Things may have changed now though.
10
As in Australia these lessons will never be learnt. A bit like living/building on a flood plain where everything will be great until the next inevitable flood occurs.
110
The only compensation for this fire, which is similar to Australian circumstances, is that there is now a much lower chance of a similar fire happening in that area again for probably decades. We get the same in this country, when a very large “hot” fire razes through an area, the fuel reduction is enormous and can be enough to prevent fires for years, even decades, afterwards.
80
Once someone kills you, you are safe from further threats? 😉
20
Not quite the same.
30
The number quoted when I was young was seven, seven years before the next big fire. Context was NSW Blue Mountains.
20
Yep, grew up in the Blue Mts and it was 9-10 years. Blue Mtns had bad fires in’57, ‘68 and ‘77
10
Just imagine the damage Newsome could do if he ever got to Washington.
He’s completely trashed Commiefornia.
110
To paraphrase Jonathan Swift,
The man made climate change cabal are bred up from their youth in the art of proving, by words multiplied for the purpose, that white is black, and black is white, according as they are paid. To this cabal all the rest of the people are slaves.
80
Believe me, this began decades ago. Read my post, above
10
That is a pretty fire hydrant isn’t it!
Red – the colour of Karen Bass’ face from embarrassment over her bungling incompetence.
Green – the colour of nausea from the residents who backed her.
Yellow – the colour of the spines of those that could have stood up to budget cuts and the DEI BS.
Blue – well, it ain’t water that’s for sure!
120
Fire hydrant…I thought it was a large sex aid? California style, 101.
How wrong can you be? The colours were right, maybe it was the ring of bolts that should have changed my observation, then again, it is California. I should have seen that it was meant to be a hydrant, water gushes out, etc.
My bad.
40
The current fire is in fact not the worst fire Los Angeles has ever seen.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/los-angeles-worst-california-wildfires/
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Tony Heller’s been publishing photos of San Francisco after a majority of the city burned to the ground following an earthquake in the early 1900’s. Mother nature can be a real bitch sometimes.
50
One thing that stood out to me was the abundance of 100,000L swimming pools but not one sprinkler system, one old chap however decided rather foolishly to stay behind and fight the fire with buckets scooped out of his jacuzzi at first then his pool, he managed to save his home and the neighbours as well while the rest of the street was ash.
The trick is not to depend on an electric pump unless it is powered by your own generator.
150
I saw that guy. Not sure how he did it though against those flames. Not sure I would have attempted it. Would be interesting to know more details.
30
He wasn’t young, he had white hair but was a past Beach volleyball champ.
He succeeded against the odds.
10
A swimming pool and a decent diesel firefighting pump can work wonders as well.
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Video: Ben Shapiro talks about DEI and its impact on the LA Fire Department.
The focus was and is on DEI, not building an effective fire department. He doesn’t blame the firefighters but the inappropriate focus on DEI and not firefighting and planning, such as lack of water for fire hydrants.
Even though lack of planning and demolition of multiple dams caused a lack of water in the fire hydrants, there was no shortage of effort painting woke rainbows on said hydrants:.
50
The shift in focus from fire fighting to homeless in LA has worked a treat. Less fire fighting and more homeless,.
The emerging problem for the LA Mayor, Bass, is that the new homeless also fund her political ambition. The wealthy funders will have different priorities now.
The other big blue State, New York, is also heading for the rocks with rolling blackouts in their future.
40
The latest estimate is a cost of $150Billion for the Los Angeles fires. Remarkably only ten dead.
I would compare the loss to the cost of making weapons of death for Ukraine, with a million people dead. Death and destruction in another country to safeguard the people of that country. Really? Current estimates at $174Billion to September 2024. Plus say another $50Billion at the last minute. And this all goes to American companies.
But FEMA is broke. The dams are empty. No preparation at all for fire. And no funds to rebuild.
It all went to assist illegal border crossings destroying the very social fabric of America and Europe for that matter.
One person’s tragic loss is another’s profit.
Are the US government and California governments sure of their priorities? This fire is a wakeup call that the globalists do not care tuppence for Americans. Even rich ones.
100
Plus, I saw yesterday Biden has said the feds will pay for it all (whatever that means in detail). A handy gift for incoming Trump. Almost as good as Covid. But the US will just write it up I suppose. Debt doesn’t seem to be an issue anymore.
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They’d better get that cash sent out before Trump’s inaug.
But I understand Biden doing this. This is an existential event for all Democrat politicians who depend upon the liberal West-coast rich. And that’s a LOT of politicians.
The conservatives among us will be pushing for a condition that says that no fed-gov money flows to LA until all North Carolina hurricane victims have been made whole. Problem is, NC voters aren’t Biden’s best friends.
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Only 10 days left, can govt move that fast, I doubt it.
30
And for deportation of illegals in the US, I read that 95% of Republicans support it. And 77% of independents and of Democrats.
As you suggest, it’s all the doing of politicians, like our communist Adam Bandt who said “we tell them what they want to hear and when we get power, we do what we like”. Too many politicians on both sides think like this. To be a politician, you have to have no convictions. And that defines too many. Criminals who have not been caught yet.
00
If California were a country, it would have the sixth largest economy in the world. It would probably be much bigger than that if so many resources weren’t wasted on insane Leftist and woke policies
https://www.forbesindia.com/article/explainers/top-10-largest-economies-in-the-world/86159/1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_California?wprov=sfla1
It is commonly quoted as the fifth largest economy but the Wikipedia article says GDP was US$4.08 trillion and Forbes shows IMF data which puts India in fifth place with US$4.27 trillion so wokeness is clearly having an impact and causing it to slide.
70
I predict planning authorities will get rid of the regulations for the rebuild. They will have to, no choice. They don’t want to upset their votes.
Look at what they do for Wind and Solar factories here, enviro regulations don’t seem to be an issue when it’s for something they want.
My parents have a property with hills giving exceptional views to the mountains, premium site for a house in the local area, fantasy style stuff. However, under the LEP it is classified as class 1 agricultural land, no building. (False grading, its actually more like class 5, poor yellow podzolic soils better suited to eucalypt trees).
However, a Melbourne company has requested to us several times to put a battery installation there on about 5 acres of it from memory. That would be industrial land use on class 1 ag land. Apparently, according to them, the LEP is not a problem at all and it would go ahead instantly. Clearly they know more than we do and so I assume the very green council does not object. (Won’t happen while we are alive).
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“I predict planning authorities will get rid of the regulations for the rebuild. They will have to, no choice.”
That’s going to be tough to do.
The bane of the Progressive Regulatory State tends to be grandfathered exceptions. They HATE them, and they live to cancel them out at every possible chance.
Clearing that coast – even of the Malibu rich enclaves – is going to be too tempting for the ultra-environmentalists.
30
The authorities will more likely increase regulations to ensure all new house are totally fire-proof and ultra expensive and with no fire insurance possible who but a handful of super rich will be able to rebuild.
Lots of empty cleared land to buy from destitute previous owners.
00
I follow James Woods (the actor, conservative and Trump supporter) on Twitter. A few days ago he thought his house in Pacific Palisades was gone. He was one of the lucky ones.
James Woods
@RealJamesWoods
Twitter link for short video of his house after the fire
Incidentally, 71% of the Pacific Palisades voters voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 Presidential election.
70
I just read, about 10 minutes ago that his house is still standing.
He posted it on X, although I didn’t read it myself. It was part of a news report.
00
That’s sort of the point, isn’t it?
If you weren’t in the wrong place at the wrong time, you wouldn’t need any emergency services.
90
https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/albanese-seizes-on-los-angeles-fires-to-argue-case-for-climate-action-20250110-p5l3b8
To rusted-on climate change fanatics like Albanese, blaming the LA inferno on climate change:
There has always been wildfires in areas like this. It is a risk that comes with the territory. This current catastrophy is down to an incessant change from common sense to DEI wokeness.
50
Albo is utterly shameless.
20
“You want to see someone who looks like you”, no stupid, I want to see someone who can haul a firehose to my burning house, don’t care what colour or gender they are, they just need to be able to do the job.
What’s the bet all the requirements to be a firie were reduced so the genders could make the grade.
40
The Climate Realism show checks out the Los Angeles fires and definitely NOT caused by the Demorats CC fantasy.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/01/10/live-at-1-p-m-eastern-la-fires-not-caused-by-climate-change-the-climate-realism-show-140/
00
Interesting statement: “The speed at which the fires spread caught firefighters and residents off guard”
But what happened to their forecasting? Other comments say that the Santa Ana winds come regularly, even annually. Surely they can be forecast, maybe even reliably??
From Wikipedia:
“Typically, about 10 to 25 Santa Ana wind events occur annually.[5] A Santa Ana wind can blow from one to seven days, with an average wind event lasting three days. “
10
He’s a comparison for our stateside contributors. Tony Abbott was the Prime Minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015 and represented the seat of Warringah. Maybe except for the time he was PM ( so roughly equivalent of a state governor in the US) he was an active member of his local volunteer fire brigade. All the time as an MP, or sub minister he very often jumped on the truck and was on the end of the hose fighting fires in his local area. Can you imagine Gavin Newscum doing that??
90
My brother was a member of the same volunteer Rural Fire Brigade that Abbott was in (and remains a member of). True conservatives are never afraid of hard work, volunteer work or charity work.
90
Tony was one of the volunteers who attended a fire in our valley – I think it was in 2020. We will always be very grateful.
20
One of two available Canadair CL215 water bombers taken out by a stray drone, plane suffered a fair sized hole in the left wing leading edge.
40
There should be a death penalty for arsonists who cause death and destruction.
Firefighter reveals two men were caught on camera lighting fire just before Palisades blaze erupted in LA
20
You’re right as rain!
00
It is interesting that the homeowners in worst areas burnt out are the very ones whose are rich enough to be able to rebuild their homes without needing to claim on their fire insurance. 💰💰💰
Not that there will be any Insurance companies willing to pay out a single red cent to the victims of these horror fires. 👹👹🔥🔥
00
The single biggest contributing factor to the devastation was the wind.
Jo did mention this in Thursday’s article and it bears repeating. The dry Santa Ana winds blowing from inland caused wind gusts of up to 160km/hr in Los Angeles at the time of the Palisades fire. A common rule of firefighting is that the bushfire’s rate of forward advance is roughly 10% of the wind speed. At a predicted rate of advance of 16km covered in an hour there would be little chance of containing such a blaze, especially considering inaccessible terrain and when the effect of embers is considered. This is where the high wind has a triple-whammy effect:
1) The fire front moves faster than ground units can keep up. 2) Firefighting aircraft are typically prohibited from trying to fly in the dangerous low-level conditions with strong winds. 3) Even if a pilot decides to risk the mission the water drops are usually too inaccurate in strong cross-winds to be effective.
There is also a limit on most firefighting aircraft from operating at night.
It does not seem possible to have stopped the fire from impacting on the suburbs under those conditions.
Whether the majority of houses could have been saved even after the fire arrived there is a different question. The wind could whip up the spread of fire between houses just as easily. After reports of hydrants going dry there is a question over the local authority’s preparation for suppressing a long line of fire contact in the Pacific Palisades. I’m just saying that DEI didn’t make the wind happen.
10
No, of course DEI didn’t make it happen. It was a long list. But when you prioritise colour and gender over competence, merit and training and attitude, equipment and water and fire prevention and forward planning, you get a totally predictable disaster.
As if no one knew there was no water in the hydrants? And no knew there was no water in the Palisades dam? Or that they had given away their equipment and were defunded?
But no one was complaining about the obvious risk in these winds. Even the insurance companies walked away, especially after the government legislated that they could not increase payments for the higher risk. Insurance companies could see it coming. Any experienced fireman could as well. The Santa Anna winds are every year on the clock, not random.
The only hope was to stop the fire early, man lit or accidental. Once it is 900C and moving at 16km/hr it is unstoppable. Only a wide firebreak and teams to handle spot fires has any hope. How many Australian suburbs would handle a 100mph dry wind and an established fire front? They will need parks and boulevards as firebreaks when they rebuild. Even terraced slopes.
DEI is only a symptom of a general malaise where incompetence is applauded as progressive. And no fish were harmed in the unnatural dam. And the water was returned to the creeks to run free to the ocean. Too bad about all the houses.
00