Los Angeles Wildfires Strain Firefighters as Critics Point to Government Policy Failures
Local critics have raised alarms over the city council’s $17.6 million reduction to the fire department budget, which was initially suggested by the mayor to be $23 million.
As Los Angeles faces four significant fires, critics are attributing the danger to government decisions that jeopardize lives, properties, and businesses.
“Our primary focus is on protecting lives, which often involves evacuating individuals and ensuring safe exits,” stated Digiovanna, a former fire chief from Monrovia, within Los Angeles County.
He shared, “Yesterday, three fires ignited, starting with the Palisades fire at 11 a.m., erupting quickly due to dangerously high Santa Ana winds.”
“Our greatest fear was the potential for multiple fires igniting simultaneously,” he added. “The ignition source of the blaze remains unknown. We are still navigating in a highly volatile firefighting scenario.”
Fire Hydrants Depleted
Due to the extensive deployment of fire engines, the reservoirs feeding gravity-fed fire hydrants were depleted to such a degree that some areas faced inadequate water pressure to extinguish fires.
“Regrettably, the number of fire trucks engaged in structure protection and drawing from numerous hydrants drained our water supply rapidly,” Digiovanna noted. “The water system ran low on resources—affecting our firefighters—resulting in moments of critically low water pressure during firefighting operations.”
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Pumper trucks are designed to draw water from lakes and swimming pools, and more firefighting personnel and equipment are being sourced from adjacent counties and states to tackle the fires in Los Angeles County, according to Digiovanna.
“We anticipated this Santa Ana wind event; we recognized it would be a powerful one. Preparation began several days prior, involving the augmentation of staffing, additional resources, and community readiness for these wind challenges as the unpredictability of winds can be troubling,” he explained.
Around 1,000 fire trucks were mobilized—still insufficient to safeguard that many residences. The high winds also prevented fire-fighting teams from deploying helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to combat the flames, Digiovanna stated.
With approximately 40,000 homes at risk from the fires, he remarked that even with 2,000 fire trucks, 38,000 homes would still remain vulnerable.
“This situation exceeded our operational limits within Southern California and Los Angeles… it’s purely an act of nature,” he stated.
“Currently, we have three significant fires raging,” he added. He commended the firefighters for their extraordinary efforts given the limitations of their available resources.
A fire hydrant in Pacific Palisades, Calif., on Jan. 8, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
While some argue that the dry brush surrounding homes should be cleared, Digiovanna suggested that such a large-scale task is impractical.
“You can’t simply venture into the mountains and start clearing brush,” he explained.
“We can and have conducted controlled burns in the past, but that is an extensive process requiring ample resources and ideal weather conditions to execute safely. Often, we encounter barriers due to environmental concerns, wildlife, and the smoke produced by the fires.”
Fires ‘Completely Foreseen’
Dr. Houman Hemmati, a fire evacuee whose Santa Monica residence borders a high-risk zone near the Pacific Palisades, informed The Epoch Times that his home “is at risk, but so far, it hasn’t been lost.”
Hemmati, a frequent commentator on Fox News regarding medical and political issues, attributes the magnitude of the damage to state and local government negligence.
“This situation was entirely expected. It’s something we predicted would occur at some point, that a significant fire like this would arise,” he remarked. “They were aware days in advance about the high-wind conditions that placed us at extreme fire risk.”
Hemmati criticized the local leadership, pointing out that despite a significant fire in Malibu just weeks prior, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass traveled to Ghana for a political inauguration, while Gov. Gavin Newsom delayed resource relocation and opted to hold a press conference regarding high-speed rail.
“My concern regarding both of them and the entire system is their gross negligence… they have known this was a credible risk, yet chose to focus on many other issues instead,” Hemmati contended. “That’s not leadership; that’s abandonment.”
Fires in Los Angeles County threaten lives, 40,000 homes, and businesses on Jan. 8, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
Los Angeles Fire Budget Reduced
Meanwhile, critics highlight the Los Angeles City Council’s $17.6 million budget cut to the fire department as a pressing issue.
Hemmati expressed concern that insufficient taxpayer money is allocated toward fire safety.
“We are witnessing sheer incompetence, with both state and local government prioritizing public safety as their last objective, trailing behind issues like homelessness and social reforms,” he said. “This absolutely must change as it is ruining communities and disrupting lives.”
He criticized the city for investing billions in constructing new housing and providing accommodation for the homeless instead of focusing on fire prevention and mitigation efforts.
Rick Caruso, a billionaire real estate developer and Bass’s rival in the recent election, also attributed the loss of lives, homes, and businesses to the actions of local government.
“I’m witnessing small businesses around us catch fire. These are people’s livelihoods. It’s heartbreaking,” Caruso commented. “What concerns me most is our first responders and firefighters striving to fight these fires. There’s a lack of water in the Palisades; fire hydrants aren’t functioning. This is a clear case of mismanagement by the city.”
“We’ve got a mayor out of the country while our city is ablaze and resources are insufficient to combat the fires,” Caruso noted. “This disaster was foreseeable, and what’s predictable can be prevented. … We will rebuild, but for many in this community, the path to recovery will be challenging.”
The Epoch Times contacted the mayor’s office for a statement.
“We are sending LAPD officers to assist with evacuation traffic in Hollywood,” she stated. “We are actively closing roads, redirecting traffic, and expanding access for LAFD vehicles responding to the escalating fire.”
She further pointed out that the Los Angeles Fire Department “helicopters have resumed water drops, and hundreds of firefighters remain on-site to combat” both the Palisades Fire and Hurst Fire.
