EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

The Politically Correct Implausible Denial Of Responsibility For Ensuring The Safety Of The People Of California; Its All About Protecting The Underbrush

This interactive map can be found here.

Every year…. Correction: EVERY YEAR a phenomena called the Santa Ana Winds occurs in Southern California. EVERY YEAR. The Santa Ana Winds generally occur during the fall and winter months, with peak times generally from October through March. These winds are generated when high pressure over the Great Basin, situated between the Sierra Nevada mountains on the west and the Wasatch Mountains to the east, forces dry, warm air to the low pressure area over the Pacific Ocean. Santa Ana winds often blow at speeds of 30 to 50 mph but gusts can exceed 60 mph and on occasion, 100 mph or greater.

Los Angeles is in the path of those winds. On January 7, 2025, the Santa Ana winds are believed to have stoked smoldering embers hidden deep in the brush in the mountains outside of Los Angeles starting what has become known as the Palisades Fire. The Palisades fire was the first in a series of additional fires in the area that followed throughout the day and up to two days later.

With more than 37, 000 acres burned these fires have been catastrophic to property with losses easily exceeding 10,000 homes and other structures and more than $20 B. AccuWeather has increased its estimate to between $250 B and $275 B in property losses. At last count 24 Californians have lost their lives.

Los Angeles Mayor, Karen Bass, was out of the country on a trip that she promised she wouldn’t take when the Palisades fire began. During the FY 2024-2025 budget negotiations Mayor Bass sought and won a $17.6 M reduction in the operational budget for the LAFD (total budget minus payroll).

Throughout 2024 the 117 million gallon Ynez Reservoir, which was awaiting repairs to its Hypalon floating cover was empty. The water in the Ynez Reservoir is primarily used to the meet needs of commercial and residential properties but it is also a critical component of the water supply for firefighting in the Pacific Palisades area. Repairs to the cover have been subject to the laborious contracting process in LA which apparently does not accommodate the need for an expedited process for critical infrastructure repairs. Water from the Ynez Reservoir is a critical part of the water supply system for firefighting in the area, especially given its location and capacity to provide water pressure and volume for hydrants.

The delayed repair of the Ynez Reservoir cover led to hydrants that were unusable by the LAFD for fighting the Palisades fire.

There are three other reservoirs used for firefighting if needed, two of those are open air lakes from which water must be taken by helicopter — a slow and laborious process. Water for firefighting can also be taken from the area’s drinking water supply. And as a last resort water can be brought in by tanker trucks (tenders). Tenders can hold from 1,000 to as much as 8,000 gallons of water. But in a fire like the Palisades fire 8,000 gallons of water will be used quickly and then the tender must return to be refilled.

While the Santa Ana winds subsided a bit over the weekend beginning today they are anticipated to return to the extreme levels they were at on January 7th.

In the meantime Governor Gavin Newsom has been busy managing the crisis without acknowledging that the Ynez Reservoir has been empty for a full year on his watch knowing full well that the Santa Anna Winds would not wait for repairs to the reservoir’s cover to be made before they rushed over the mountains of Eastern California. And while busily fighting “misinformation” he has failed to address the fact that the LA FD operational budget was reduced by $17.6M and that because the Ynez Reservoir is dry fire hydrants that depend on its water were dry.

There is ample blame that needs to be absorbed by the politicians in charge of California for the magnitude of both this fire and the damage it caused. Some of it is due to myopic environmental policies, some to failure to ensure a competent electrical grid, and some to the fact that no plan B was even considered when the Ynez Reservoir was emptied a full year ago knowing full well that the Santa Ana Winds would return before repairs were completed and the reservoir was filled again.

Then there is the issue of homeowner’s insurance. Insurance costs everywhere on the planet except California are strictly risk based; the greater the risk the more expensive the insurance policy premium. California’s environmental policies have lead to increased fire risk in those areas where for decades brush has been allowed to accumulate for “environmental” reasons. Price controls have limited the prices that insurance companies can charge property owners making it unprofitable for them to do business in California and so many have left the state. This is not a matter of greed but rather near sighted environmental policies that only created an environment best suited for destruction of property and loss of life.

At some point in time and I hope that its soon, those who keep pushing one sided environmental polices and those who blithely vote for them will begin to understand the damage that they’re causing.

Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity, and the rod they wield in fury will be broken. Proverbs 22:8

Union, Kentucky

13 January 2025

T -7 Days