If the Ghouls Could Please Give it a Rest Until the Fires are out
A Personal Update on the Fires Impacting Los Angeles
Not since the massive Bel Air Fire of 1961, has the City of Los Angeles seen the fire devastation that it has seen from the Pacific Palisades Fire.1
While I have been very fortunate to not yet be directly affected by the fires, I have lost count of how many friends who have lost homes in the Pacific Palisades Fire (as well as the other fires). Even more friends have been forced to evacuate, some who are still waiting to find out if their homes have survived.
This gets overused as an analogy but the destruction is akin to what happened to New York City on 9/11, which left an iconic part of lower Manhattan a smoldering ruin.
Pacific Palisades is a beautiful and iconic neighborhood. It was considered one of the more highly desirable places to live in LA. Its many local businesses, along with those that dot the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, are those that Angelenos often frequent.
Now, much of it is a smoldering ruin.
The psychological damage cannot be understated. And I feel deeply for everyone who has suffered loss. This is nothing short of a tragedy. Home is where the heart is. It is where people are supposed to be the safest. For so many, that’s gone.
Moreover, the crisis is not over as the fires are not yet fully contained.
For those who need emergency information, including whether they’re under evacuation orders, here is the official county website: lacounty.gov/emergency
For those who want to keep up with mandatory evacuation and cautionary evacuation maps, here is the link: https://lafd.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Media/index.html?appid=ba8cfed4b4a04d49b7489eb8300727a8
For relief from the fires: recovery.losangelescounty.gov
For Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s order on rebuilding (applicable for destroyed and damaged homes in the City of Los Angeles): https://mayor.lacity.gov/news/mayor-bass-issues-sweeping-executive-order-clear-way-angelenos-rebuild-their-homes-fast
The fires have destroyed thousands of homes and hundreds of businesses. People have lost everything they own.
Many of the victims are wealthy. And for some, that might foolishly lead one to lack empathy. For some, it’s an opportunity to laugh at the plight of the wealthy (as many of the victims are).
But I’ll note that: (1) not everyone who lived in the Pacific Palisades is wealthy (plenty of older home owners bought years ago and were protected by Prop 13), (2) many of these wealthy people have never had to ask for help before from others and are suffering immensely, and (3) you shouldn’t laugh at the misfortunes of others simply because of how much money you think they happen to have.
Others are facing loss too.
There are many low wage workers in the Pacific Palisades - housekeepers, babysitters, janitors, gardeners - who are now out of work. The painful loss of a restaurant or an independently owned boutique that an entrepreneur took years to build up is not just a devastating loss for the business owner but represents a devastating job loss for every store clerk, restaurant server, and busboy.
There are fire victims who suffered great personal losses in life who kept memories of a loved one within their homes and have lost those keepsakes as a result of the fire.
I grieve for all these victims.
Some clarifications are needed because there is some confusion about the fires.
This is not an instance of a typical house fire that got out of control and then ravaged the community. This is the result of an unprecedented massive wildfire, with never before seen hurricane level winds blowing powerful embers into urban areas all at once.
While there are frequent wildfires in the Southern California area, they rarely threaten the City of Los Angeles (outside some outlying neighborhoods in the San Fernando Valley). There has not been a major wildfire within the City of Los Angeles since the 1961 Bel Air Fire. And unlike the Palisades Fire, the 1961 Bel Air Fire did not have hurricane strength winds.
As
pointed out in Learn smart lessons from the L.A. fires, not stupid lessons, the water fire hydrants and water tankers were all full when the Pacific Palisades Fire first broke out. However, akin to 9/11 when there was not enough water in local fire hydrants to put out the initial fire that engulfed the Twin Towers upon the terrorists crashing the planes into the buildings, there was not enough water to put out the fire storm.
As Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Anthony Marrone explained, a minimum of 30,000 fire trucks would have been needed to respond to each individual structure that set on fire in the Pacific Palisades at once. That’s more than exist in the entire state of California.
Similarly to 9/11, the New York City Fire Department could not put out the Twin Towers fires and save those buildings and many of the victims trapped inside, if for no other reason that what they faced was completely unprecedented for them. The fire hydrants in New York City worked fine but there was not enough water to put out what had started.Additionally, as
and several others have noted, the Los Angeles Fire Department budget was increased from the previous year. Additional money was appropriated to train and hire 220 new firefighters and finish a five year turnout gear replacement plan.
Although there has been terrible destruction, the Los Angeles Fire Department has had some truly great successes in fighting these fires. One of the great successes was the response to Wednesday night’s Sunset Fire, which broke out in the Hollywood Hills at Runyon Canyon Park.
The Sunset Fire was a potentially catastrophic event. For those who are unfamiliar with the area, it is comprised of extremely narrow and windy streets that are difficult for cars to traverse under normal circumstances. It has a far denser population than the Pacific Palisades, with numerous lot line to lot line mansions, large apartment complexes far up in the hills, and some streets with rows of townhomes.
Dotting the area and surrounding the housing are areas of preserved natural land that are home to LA’s wildlife population. Biologists have discovered that the natural lands are linked with secret passageways used by the animals. This makes it very easy for fire to spread.
If uncontrolled like the Palisades Fire, it could have spread into Hollywood proper taking out vast amounts of urban cityscape (taking out the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Hollywood Bowl, Mann’s Chinese Theater, the Dolby Theater, and the Magic Castle). It could have spread west and hit Beverly Crest and Bel Air, recreating the same devastation of 1961.
Angelenos watched the Sunset Fire on live television in absolute horror, not knowing whether there were even enough firefighters to respond given that they were already engaged in fighting pre-existing fires.
However, our LAFD heroes responded almost immediately, in a Hollywood response befitting the Hollywood Hills. As ground strike forces coordinated, planes and helicopters continuously dropped water on the blaze. This aerial assault quickly contained the fire with no casualties and not a single property lost.
On Friday night, in a major threat to the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood from the Pacific Palisades Fire, firefighters conducted a massive aerial assault in coordination with ground team firefighter strike forces. It appears that not a single home was lost.
Why was this technology not employed on Tuesday with the Palisades Fire?
The hurricane level winds were too great on Tuesday to allow for planes to fly and perform an aerial assault against the fire. While some air drops were made, they were generally limited by the unprecedented winds.
We possess the technological ability to fly aircraft in these conditions. The United States Air Force has flown for decades with planes that have this ability. Our California state fire department already has a large fleet of planes for firefighting. It’s to the great credit of our state government that we have the air capability that we do.
However, we ought to continue to expand our firefighting air fleet and improve its technological capability. We need to improve the fleet’s technological capability so that they can carry on operations - even in hurricane force winds.
Normally, I offer a more critical eye of our elected officials. Here, I would like to complement the leadership of our current elected officials and leaders, which has honestly risen to the occasion in the face of great tragedy.
Some history is needed.
In 1992, when four officers accused of beating Rodney King were acquitted and civil unrest began in the streets of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley told people to go out and vent their anger at the jury verdict and then disappeared while violence and looting began.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Daryl Gates ignored the unfolding crisis, including several hours at the intersection of Florence and Normandie Avenues where police disappeared and crowds attacked drivers, and attended a political fundraiser that night.
Neither man was on speaking terms with the other (they hadn’t been for years) and didn’t change course even as large parts of the city burned down. When Governor Pete Wilson dispatched the National Guard, they couldn’t immediately deploy to Los Angeles because they lacked the necessary military supplies.
Things have changed dramatically since then and for the better.
The emergency operations center which coordinates all emergency response officials in Los Angeles County (there are 88 different cities) was online in less than two hours at the start of the fire. We have received daily press conferences from all our officials with clear yet comprehensive information. The government has been responsive to new problems and new emergencies as they have arisen.
Evacuation warnings were swift and gave plenty of time for people to evacuate. While any fatality is tragic, the low number of fatalities relative to the overall extent of the fire is incredible. It also appears that all of the casualties were those who refused to adhere to evacuation orders. While I still mourn their loss, they didn’t die because their government ignored or abandoned them.
A few elected officials I will call out for their leadership in particular:
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna
At daily press briefings, he has handled himself professionally with the demeanor of a good cop. Without beating his chest, he has calmly but firmly explained the consequences of taking advantage of the situation to loot fire victims. People are listening. The LA County Sheriff’s Department and the LAPD are making arrests. But there has been minimal looting.Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman
At daily press briefings, he has meticulously laid out the law of the different crimes he plans to charge related to people taking advantage of the fires. He has educated the public about how to best protect itself against potential types of disaster related crime. He’s also educated citizens on how to avoid committing crimes themselves when mistaking crime for business opportunities.Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath
Supervisor Horvath represents most of the affected communities. She has not used this tragedy as an opportunity for self-aggrandizement and to grab the limelight. Instead, she has been laser focused on delivering information to constituents. She has done so repeatedly in a clear and concise way when many are overloaded information.
I’d also like to praise the leadership of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
The leadership of the Los Angeles Fire Department by Chief Kristin Crowley and the Los Angeles Police Department by Chief Jim McDonnell in response to this disaster has been nothing short of exemplary. Chief Crowley’s leadership has saved countless lives and countless structures. Chief McDonnell’s LAPD has helped maintain order on the streets.
Bass appointed both Crowley and McDonnell. She ignored political demands from powerful public sector labor unions and left wing pressure groups to do so. A good Mayor ignores political demands to appoint hacks and instead appoints high quality professionals. Bass did so and it is paying dividends for the city.
More importantly, Bass has not made this natural disaster all about her. She understands that Los Angeles is bigger than her own political career and elected office. She doesn’t hog the limelight or push other elected officials to the side. She does not get into back and forth with reporters. She just does her job.
This is key because Bass has been subject to a torrent of criticisms that are honestly confounding in their general illogic and ignorance about how Los Angeles governance works. I have yet to hear a single criticism of her during the fire that is even remotely valid.
People have criticized her for being in Ghana for their Presidential Inauguration when the Pacific Palisades Fire broke out. When she learned of the fire, she immediately cancelled her trip and flew home directly on a military plane. If it turns out that she stopped off for Jujyfruits, I will reconsider my position.2 Otherwise, I cannot fault her for lacking psychic abilities.
While some pseudo-intellectuals, social media celebrities, and billionaires are angered by declining to respond to a FOX News “journalist” who harassed her with stupid questions when she got off a plane, she’s doing exactly what she is supposed to do as the Mayor during a national disaster.
During a natural disaster emergency, we need to hear information from our elected officials that is solely related to the crisis at hand.
An elected official needs to be telling the public about current evacuation zones, emergency shelter information, available relief resources, school closures, information on criminal operations targeting people, information related to the disaster itself, rules on rebuilding homes, etc.
We don’t need to hear anything else. Even if one is right, engaging with those looking for rage bait is not leadership. It’s the opposite.
Finally, I want to take a moment to address something else that has come up. Some have criticized her for smiling and having a cheery attitude in some of her videos thanking first responders and comforting fire victims.
The criticism is obviously sexist. But it’s also really grotesque given her family history. In response to one of Mayor Bass’s videos where she thanks first responders, a Twitter user tweeted “Stop smiling!”
Many might not be aware, but in 2006, a week before her re-election to the State Assembly, Karen Bass lost her only child, unborn grandchild, and son-in-law in a fluke car accident. I couldn’t imagine being a parent in that kind of situation - facing an absolutely unthinkable tragedy.
I am told that no parent ever truly recovers from that kind of loss but that some parents who suffer that loss find ways to persevere anyway. They never forget the tragedy but they move forward in life for the sake of their child’s memory.
For Bass, that includes putting on a brave face during a tragic time and smiling when thanking our emergency first responders.
In my humble opinion, I feel the Mayor is entitled to smile anytime she fucking wants. And I welcome disagreement from the soulless jackals who are revealing their general sociopathy. Because I know to stay away from them and not take anything they have to say seriously on any other topic.
In any event, it’s perhaps why Bass is well-equipped to handle this situation. She can compartmentalize even the worst and most traumatic tragedies and move forward.
No elected official is above or beyond criticism, including Karen Bass. But the criticism should be for things that she has actually done wrong. I have every right to change my mind about her performance in the future, depending upon her actions on the recovery and rebuilding effort. For right now though, there is no one else I want in charge of Los Angeles.
In any event, the fire is still ongoing. As I write this tonight, the Pacific Palisades Fire is not yet out and the winds were expected to worsen this week to even higher levels. I am hoping we will escape further damage.
When the fires are out, the Pacific Palisades must be rebuilt. How the city facilitates and assists people in rebuilding their lives is going to be critical. Just removing the debris from the mass destruction is an effort that could take years.
I remain hopeful that we will be able to rebuild. For the sake of the people of the Pacific Palisades and for Los Angeles, we must.
For my part, I will continue to help friends and family during this terrible time.
As for the ghouls in the peanut gallery, they could stand to give it a rest.
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