Over the past week, Los Angeles, California has been devastated by wildfires. At least 25 have died at the time of publishing and more are deemed missing. Firefighters are on a rush against time trying to put them out before they reach LA. Some neighborhoods have been burnt to nothing but ash, and others are continuously being affected by the growing wildfires around the county. California Governor, Gavin Newsom, has issued an order to allow hazmat crews to begin cleaning up properties burnt down by the wildfires. Some people speculate the fires were started purposefully in order to allow a modernized rebuilding of LA, others think they are pure accident.
There have been six recorded fires across Los Angeles County. The most destructive fires are the Palisades Fire that has affected Topanga and is spreading into the Santa Monica area, and the Eaton Fire that
is taking over Altadena into the Angeles National Forest. The cause of the fires has not been confirmed by officials; however, there are a couple different possibilities including arson, fireworks, or rekindling of an earlier fire. “An electric utility executive told LA Times on Wednesday that the winds during the Eaton fire did not reach the intensity necessary to warrant the de-energization of a significant electrical transmission line,” this line is now under investigation as a source of igniting the fire. The winds are forecasted to pick up significantly over the next couple days and are expected to worsen the current state of the wildfires.
All of those living in the affected areas have been evacuated for their safety, leaving everything but essential documents and belongings behind. Evacuation also proposed a problem for the residents of many neighborhoods. Roads around the fires are being shut down, gas stations have run out of gasoline leaving many stranded with no way out, and traffic all through LA has shown to create delays in actually getting out of the area. With the destruction caused to multiple neighborhoods, many of those who have evacuated no longer have a home to return to. Tens of thousands of people including some celebrities from the area have lost everything except what they brought with them. This number is expected to increase as the fires continue to be fought against.
The mayor, Karen Bass, was in Ghana at an Embassy cocktail party on January 7th when the Palisades fire first broke out. Before taking office, she pledged not to leave abroad while mayor. Not being in the country proposed a problem of not being prepared to tackle the wildfires. Residents of Los Angeles began signing petitions to remove her from office regarding everything that has been revealed recently. With cuts to the fire department’s budget, some have even put the blame onto the mayor for the destruction. Karen Bass decided several
months before the wildfires to cut 2.7% of the budget, roughly $17.5 million. An online graphic posted by the city controller, Kenneth Mejia, showed this cut as well as a police department budget increase of $126 million. The fire chief spoke out to FOX 11 Los Angeles saying that the city has failed her. Crowley claimed that the budget cuts impacted the fire department’s ability to properly fight the fires. Recently there has been talk about Mayor Bass firing the chief since she spoke out to news outlets.
