As I write this
sitting in the MD DC suburbs, it is snowing heavily. This is about the third
snow since the new year started. In the last few years, we have seen little
snow, and the winters have been warmer. This fact led many to talk about global
climate change, while others point to days like today and say that all is normal.
Well, the point of change is that it is variable and we often see the extremes
at either end of the weather forecasts.
The fires in the
Los Angeles area show another aspect of variable weather. For many months
during the year, Southern California enjoys mild temperatures and sunny days
with little rain. Then, as autumn turns into winter, cyclical rains are
expected. In recent years, there has been so much rain that flooding and
landslides have occurred. Last year saw record temperatures across much of the
western part of the country. States from Arizona to Oregon experienced weeks
with thermostats recording temperatures over 100 degrees.
Los Angeles was
no exception. And, as temperatures rise, vegetation dries up and dies, thus
providing fuel for any wayward spark. This year saw little rain; less than an
inch has fallen. Not to overuse a phrase, a perfect storm was in the wings,
just waiting for the return of the Santa Ana Winds. If you can think of these
winds as a hurricane without the rains, you can get the picture. In a hurricane,
the winds are unrelenting and often appear in bands, feeding upon what came
before; these winds are little different. They came from the east, barreling
over the mountains that rim the area with great fury, toppling trees and power
lines. Perhaps a fallen line ignited a fire, perhaps a spark from a backyard
barbeque? We don’t yet know. But fire begets fire when there are acres of dry
tinder ahead. And winds drive embers to land on roofs, backyard fences, and
treehouses. Soon entire neighborhoods are engulfed.
Fire doesn’t
care whether the home is one perched high above the ocean with a beautiful view,
a multimillion-dollar mansion owned by a movie star, or is in a valley, a modest
cottage built by its owner. Both went up in flames. To me, it was astounding to
see how fast the fires moved and how quickly homes were destroyed. And, it was
also surprising to note that certain blocks remained with houses on one side seemingly
untouched, while across the street lay destruction. Fire is contrary and
fickle, it seems.
As reported by The
New York Times:
“Fire scientists say they hope the fires will be a catalyst
for major change, with new requirements for retrofitting older houses,
prohibiting rebuilding in burned areas or encouraging people and developers to
leave areas that are deemed high-risk. “We have
to recognize that the failure in urban planning happened 50 or 80 years ago
when we were first laying out the communities on the fringes of L.A.,” said
Michael J. Gollner, an associate professor, and director of the fire research
laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley. “We know how to make
the destruction dramatically less.”
“But the
overhaul required to fireproof communities comes with enormous costs, either
for retrofitting or rebuilding fire-vulnerable homes or for land newly deemed
too risky to build on — a particularly difficult prospect in a state with a
severe housing crisis. These changes also might mean a painful shift in
identity for Californians, as preventing wildfires could require constructing
homes without vegetation nearby, far from the wilderness that many hold dear.”
As the
Washington Post reported:
“The Eaton Fire has left Altadena
in ruins — a scene that Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger described
as a “war zone.”
Entire
blocks now lie in ashes, homes erased as if they never stood. The fire’s
chaotic winds carried embers for miles, igniting destruction in unpredictable
bursts and leaving pockets of survival amid overwhelming loss, Barger said.
The
destruction is especially acute around Eaton Canyon: “I was absolutely shocked.
There’s not even a word for the destruction that it caused in that area,” she
said.”
I was saddened
to see so much criticism of the firefighting when there was little water
pressure, or dry hydrants as neighborhoods burned down. Think for a minute, we’ve
seen firefighters battling wildfires, clearing brush, chopping trees in the
path, and setting up breaks so the fire will no longer have fuel as it
progresses over a ridge, for example. Then they call in the planes to drop retardant
and stop the forward progress. This is repeated again and again as they gain
control of the blaze. Fighting in an urban development is so very different.
But, then
turn to your neighborhood. Maybe a home was on fire, so what did you see? Several
engine companies and many firefighters putting out a fire at a single dwelling.
Or maybe there was a row of townhouses where multiple companies were called in
to save the buildings. Consider the efforts you saw then. How could that
intense battle for one or a few homes compare with fire entering an entire city,
one where every house on the block was endangered and sending embers to houses
on the next block? That becomes a conflagration. There is no brush to cut down,
no way to build a break or a berm to slow the fire. And the hurricane-force
winds keep the planes out of the air. And, as multiple companies tap into the
same water supply, the pressure drops and the waters run out. In some cases, loss of power caused the pumps to fail.
Who is to
blame? It, to me, is beyond belief that outsiders thought that pointing
fingers was a way to address this problem. Yes, there were lives lost and
thousands of properties and homes destroyed. Even so, many people were safely
evacuated, and many homes were spared. But how would you have stopped the fires?
I would rather applaud those who worked and are still working to contain these
horrific fires and look to the future for different solutions.
This is a fire
update from the Washington Post as of 1/17/25.
But, complaining
is one thing, outright lying by some should not be tolerated.
The BBC Verify addressed
many of these claims and counterclaims, in this article.
Complaints were
posted online calling out the LA Fire Chief, who is a career firefighter with
many years of service, but is also a gay woman. They implied she was a
Diversity hire or DEI, and they said “DEI” means DIE. The president-elect kept
talking about turning on the water from Northern California and shunting it to
Los Angeles. That is not the problem as noted by the Times.
“Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration
declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of
water, from excess rain and snowmelt from the North, to flow daily into many
parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a
virtually apocalyptic way,” Mr. Trump said.
The governor’s press office responded with a statement on social media. There is no such document as the water restoration declaration — that is pure fiction,” the statement on X said. “The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need.”
The Republican
Congress recently implied that California would have to meet certain unspecified
requirements before disaster relief would be granted. Was the same requirement made
before the recent hurricane damage in the red states of Florida, North Carolina,
or Georgia?
As reported by MSN:
“For months
leading up to the election, Trump, and Republicans railed against the leaders of
Democratic cities and states, including Newsom, painting California as a
bastion of liberal policies and politicians who were unequipped to solve
problems such as crime, illegal immigration, and homelessness. …. But
none of those officials faced anything like the vitriolic, partisan, and
online-dominated political environment that will complicate the Los Angeles
recovery….
A version of
that criticism has persisted during the fires, as Republicans, some Democrats,
and many voters have questioned whether state and city officials did everything
they could to prepare for and fight fires that have claimed the lives of more
than 20 people and whose economic losses could total between $50 billion and $150
billion, according to analysts.
Former
Democratic Governor Jerry Brown said Newsom is facing an enormously complicated
set of governing challenges in overseeing the damage assessment, executing the
recovery, disposing of toxic materials, and “staying on point and engaging the
federal government to the maximum degree.”
Newsom has
rebutted criticisms of the state’s preparedness by emphasizing that state
funding for Cal Fire has nearly doubled during his time in office from $2
billion to $3.8 billion; the number of state fire personnel has also grown,
from 5,829 to more than 10,741. The Democratic governor has also highlighted
the decisions that he made with state and local emergency officials to
pre-position 110 fire engines, as well as specialized crews, water tenders, and
other equipment in six Southern California counties several days before the
fires.”
“Three main water tanks near the Palisades, each holding about 1
million gallons, were filled in preparation for the fire because of dangerous
weather. The tanks were all depleted by 3 a.m. Wednesday, Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power CEO and Chief Engineer Janisse Quiñones said
during a news conference Wednesday. Although water continued to flow to the
affected areas, demand for it rose faster than the system could deliver it.
"There’s
water in the trunk line; it just cannot get up the hill, because we cannot fill
the tanks fast enough," Quiñones said. "And we cannot lower the
amount of water that we provide to the Fire Department in order to supply the
tanks, because we’re balancing firefighting with water."
Other
social media users claimed slow construction of California’s reservoir led to
the hydrants running dry. But, local infrastructure failures, not regional
water storage, caused the hydrant problems, so it’s wrong to blame them on
these projects’ construction timeline.”
Can’t
we all work for the restoration of the lives and livelihoods destroyed by these
fires? Shouldn’t we be helping those who lost loved ones mourn and recover?
As
Americans usually do when faced with disasters, let’s not blame the victims,
but work for their healing.
I’ll
close with some poetry from poet Amanda Gorman who lives in the Pacific Palisades.
These are the last few lines of her poem.
"Today, we mourn. Tomorrow, reborn. We end the
burning, befriend the hurting, mend those who face the flame. We reclaim our
city's name, a revelation that only this place tells. To find our angels, all
we need do is look within ourselves."
Til
next time-Peace!
