California’s Fire Crisis: How Progressive Incompetence Turned Disaster into Catastrophe

The devastating fires in Los Angeles are one of the most harrowing examples of natural disaster in our recent collective memory. But to what degree was all of this devastation truly natural? That isn’t to say there is some grand conspiracy behind all of this, but rather to suggest at least some of this conflagration could have been mitigated under the right leadership and policy proactiveness. Democrats in California will likely assign blame to the ever-present specter of climate change, but in truth, much of what has occurred in their state these past few days was exacerbated by their own inaction and inefficiency.

The sheer size and scope of the destruction is staggering. The images and videos we are seeing, particularly out of the Pacific Palisades, resemble what Hell might look like – communities consumed by fire, tornadoes emerging out of the flames, skies obscured, and decades of memories disintegrated in an instant. As of this writing, about 40,000 acres (to put this in perspective, San Francisco is about 30,000 acres) and more than 10,000 homes and structures have been reduced to ash. Thus far, twenty-four people have also lost their lives. To what extent was this an inevitability of fate and a Mother Nature, we are told, that is increasingly ruthless?

Leadership Failures: Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass

California has been run by Democrats for the past 30 years, with a few exceptions, but not many. At present, California is under the management of Governor Gavin Newsom (57), while LA is under the management of Mayor Karen Bass (71). Bass, for her part, was 7,500 miles away from LA at the time the inferno began, at the Inauguration of President John Dramani Mahama in Ghana. She had previously promised not to go abroad and to instead focus on her city. A broken promise from a politician is nothing groundbreaking, but when you consider that she went on the trip despite the risks already being apparent, one has to assume she was either clueless or careless. A change.org petition demanding her immediate resignation has already surpassed 118,000 verified signatures.

As for Newsom, a political protégé of the former four-term governor Jerry Brown, he’s been in the top job in California since 2019. Throughout his tenure as executive, many have criticized his leadership on issues ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to this very issue of fire prevention and management. He’s had very public disputes with returning President Donald Trump as well, who is set to return to office in a week’s time. Trump, at the end of October, warned of California’s poor water management on The Joe Rogan Experience.

Inadequate Water Management by LADWP

Los Angeles’ water is managed by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), which in turn is managed by Janisse Quiñones (who was nominated by Mayor Bass), for the modest sum of $750,000 per year—three times what Gov. Newsom makes. And yet, when crisis struck, a crucial 117-million-gallon reservoir was empty, fire hydrants ran dry, and the city appeared egregiously unprepared for what was to ensue. Newsom has now called for a formal investigationinto these failings. Quiñones has also drawn criticism for misplaced priorities, citing in an interview that has been circulating on X that equity was the “number one thing that attracted her to this role.”

DEI Policies and the Los Angeles Fire Department

Aside from Quiñones, other unelected recipients of criticism have included leaders of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). Some have pointed to the fact that many of the department’s top officials are lesbian women as evidence of the city’s and the department’s DEI-first approach. To be fair, however, the chief, Kristin Crowley, does appear eminently qualified, having finished in the top 50 out of 16,000 applicants on the 1998 firefighter’s exam and having held numerous prior positions with the department. That being said, the Equity Bureau Chief, Kristine Larson, appeared in a controversial video responding to doubts about female firefighters, stating “[your husband] got himself in the wrong place if I have to carry him out of a fire.”

Multiple Causes: From Negligence to Intentional Arson

Many have also pointed out that not all of these fires emanated from the same source. A video went viral showing an illegal immigrant being taken into custody by police, after neighbors in a community near the Kenneth Fire made a citizens’ arrest to thwart the blowtorch-wielding criminal. Other videos have also circulated showing fires being intentionally set, and there are even reports of fires being set in an organized fashion in order to drive people out of their homes and loot their belongings. All of this further calls into question California’s relaxed approach to law and order, which is notoriously soft.

Legislative and Budgetary Mismanagement

But the legislative and budgetary malpractice on the part of California’s political class may be the biggest culprit of all, in terms of turning this disaster into the catastrophe that continues to ravage the Palisades and beyond. Reportedly, not only did Bass slash the fire department budget by $17.6 million, to the scorn of her fire chief, but Newsom also cut funding for fighting wildfires by more than $100 million at the state level. The conditions that make California beautiful also make it a tinderbox, so why are officials cutting the fire budget? Presumably, to reallocate resources to the homeless crisis and other initiatives deemed more important, such as $50 million to “Trump-proof” the state.

Voices of Critique: Chamath Palihapitiya and Elon Musk

On the most recent episode of the popular All-In podcast, Chamath Palihapitiya stated the following regarding legislative failures: “Multiple bills, AB 2330, AB 1951, AB 2639, all rejected by the Democrat-controlled legislature, or worse, vetoed by Governor Newsom, that would have exempted these wildfire prevention projects from [the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)] and other permitting issues. Then there were other bills to try to minimize the risk of fires by burying power lines underground. Sb 103, as an example, went nowhere, didn't even get to the governor's desk. So, I'm just a little bit at a loss to explain these two bodies of data. One is, everybody can see that these events are happening. Southern California lived through this exact type of moment just six years ago. All the bills that are meant to prevent this are blocked or vetoed. This is the ultimate expression of negligence and incompetence.”

Elon Musk has been understandably critical of California for some time, famously relocating from California to Texas in 2020. He has accused the state of “overregulation, overlitigation, and overtaxation,” but he has been supportive during this crisis nonetheless, even as he is rebuked by Newsom and others. According to those on the ground, Starlink has been vital during these past days (as with many natural disasters), and he has also deployed Cybertrucks—perhaps the sturdiest civilian vehicle there is—to help those in need of assistance. Time and again, Musk’s innovation offers reliable support in times of crisis, and time and again, those on the left look for reasons to condemn rather than collaborate with him.

These points lead us to two key questions:

Are Democrats driven by a genuine desire to help people, or by a commitment to enforce a rigid orthodoxy, regardless of the consequences?

Can we trust Democrats—or the broader left—to be adequate executives of a state as complex and unforgiving as California?

The Insurance Crisis and Economic Impact

The task of rebuilding Los Angeles will be immense, something in the vicinity of what rebuilding after a small war might cost. Hundreds of billions of dollars in damages. And this is to say nothing of the immense toll on the individual level, particularly for those who were inadequately insured. As it turns out, insurance companies were aware of the risks in Southern California. When they deemed California’s insurance regulations unworkable in particular high-risk areas, they cancelled the insurance of many people in areas that would end up being affected by this disaster.

California Democrats’ unrealistic, anti-free market approach to insurance regulation cost many their insurance coverage just months before their homes were destroyed. This is one of many areas that truly underscores the need for politicians to have some familiarity with the private sector and an understanding of basic economics. Setting aside what has already been done (and done poorly), California should look to Florida for its model on how to rebuild, even though it will be at a much greater scale. If Ron DeSantis (the Republican governor of Florida) was in charge of California, how might this situation have evolved differently?

Rebuilding and Future Preparedness

While these fires may not have been entirely preventable, it is indeed worth asking the extent to which lives and property might have been saved had leadership taken proactive steps to fortify Southern California against the inevitable calamities to come. California’s inept policymaking and execution should serve as a lesson for the rest of America and Europe as well—progressive policies sound nice, but at what cost? How much time and focus can be spent on DEI and similar secondary objectives without taking something away from the primary objective which, in this case, is to save lives and property. Time and again, Democrats appear more focused on choosing the curtains and lampshades than ensuring the structural integrity of the building. It’s time they got back to the basics, focusing on the true “north star” objectives rather than hyper-liberal side quests. The ineptitude that turned this disaster into a catastrophe reflects the broader political winds that led to Trump’s re-election against California Democrat Kamala Harris. While the fires will (hopefully) have subsided by the time Trump resumes his presidency on January 20th, he can help Americans avoid future devastation by demonstrating what great leadership looks like—and why Democrats should not be trusted to lead, in California or anywhere else.

Michael J. Hout is an American writer and contributor to Visegrad24. He also serves as editor-in-chief of Liberty Affair, a conservative news and commentary site. Based in Warsaw, Poland, he shares his insights on X: @michaeljhout.

Michael J. Hout

Editor of Liberty Affair