Big city fires: what are the causes of fires in California
Forest fires are raging in California. Despite the seasonality of this climatic phenomenon, this time the authorities and emergency services were completely unprepared for it. As a result, the scale of the elements has grown to unprecedented in California history. Los Angeles is burning, the disaster cannot be stopped yet, and the new crisis has further fueled the fire of political warfare in the United States. What are the reasons for what is happening, "Izvestia" analyzed.
Roof on fire
America's second largest city and the capital of its most populous state is engulfed in flames. The fire has turned more than 2 thousand houses into ruins, the prestigious neighborhood Palisades, where the residences of show business stars were located, was completely burned down. The property of Anthony Hopkins, Paris Hilton, Leonardo DiCaprio, Moby and many others was destroyed. Only a hulk remains of the $4.2 million luxury mansion where Hunter Biden lived. The neighborhoods of Altadena and Hollywood Hills are burning, the flames are approaching the famous Walk of Fame. Very close to Beverly Hills and Malibu.
In total, more than 70 thousand people have been evacuated from the affected area, which is 11 thousand hectares, including the staff of the California residence of Kamala Harris. The fire is coming from four sides. On Wednesday, January 8, the head of the Los Angeles County Fire Department Anthony Marrone said that in any of the areas firefighters have not yet been able to achieve localization of the flames.
As Los Angeles resident Victoria Goykhman tells Izvestia, such a scale of elements has not been seen here for a quarter of a century.
- Of course, there have been fires before, but it has not happened for a long time that houses burned in such quantity. The fire is coming very fast, so residents evacuated, taking only the essentials. Many left their cars on the roads, and firefighters had to use bulldozers to get there," she said.
It is difficult to assess the damage at the moment. According to preliminary information, it could be as high as $57 billion.
Fire passion for nature
Forest fires on California lands are a familiar occurrence. The state is among the five most prone to this type of natural disasters. Until the late 2010s, the authorities managed to cope with cataclysms with varying degrees of effectiveness. California had a special emergency action plan, the necessary infrastructure for such situations worked. However, over the past decade, the situation has begun to deteriorate sharply, notes American political scientist Malek Dudakov.
- What we are seeing this year is beyond the normal scale. Losses are already estimated at around $50 billion. The fires are hitting the elite. There are several reasons for the tragedy. Democrats don't want to take responsibility and blame global warming and climate change for everything. Climate impacts, it's true, but the incompetence of local governments is obvious. In California, they stopped doing controlled fires, explaining it as a fight for the environment. For the same reasons, they stopped using special water storage facilities and stopped supporting infrastructure," points out the Izvestia interlocutor.
Personnel policy is a separate issue. California, being a stronghold of democrats and one of the most "progressive" states in the implementation of their ideas, actively implemented the "rainbow" and "gender" approach (the LGBT movement is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia). Appointed in March 2022 as head of the Los Angeles Fire Department, Christine Crowley has repeatedly stated the relevant priorities in her work. For example, in one interview she complained that she believes it is unfair that there are only 100 women for 3,000 firefighters. The specific form of the fight for gender equality, coupled with funding cuts, has led to mass layoffs of firefighters. Moreover, this trend has spread to other American states.
As Malek Dudakov notes, there is no less criticism of the city and state leadership.
- The mayor of Los Angeles [Karen Bass], although she was warned about the impending disaster, first reduced the funding of the fire department by $17 million, and just before the fires went on a business trip to Ghana. At the same time, the state itself, at the initiative of Governor Gavin Newsom, has since spent tens of billions of dollars to combat global warming. The money has been utilized, and now everyone can see the result. All of this is happening against the backdrop of an upcoming battle between the new federal government and Democratic states that Trump will be cutting off budget funding to. This hits Newsom's presidential ambitions. Now his prospects are in great doubt," the expert concludes.
Naturally, the situation was taken advantage of by Donald Trump's team. The president-elect criticized both Newsom and Joe Biden, "thanking" the latter for his legacy. As for the governor of California, he, according to the future head of state, should immediately leave his post. "One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning to the ground. It's ashes, and Gavin Newsom should resign. It's all his fault," Trump wrote on social media.
In addition, he recalled how back in 2020 he proposed to redirect water resources from northern California to the south, especially experiencing their deficit - in this part of the state sometimes there is no rain for months. Then Newsom abandoned the project under the pretext of protecting the local ecosystem.
The news that the political leadership of California and its main city ordered some time ago to transfer "surplus" firefighting equipment to Ukraine adds piquancy to the situation. And although this circumstance could hardly affect the degree of preparedness of emergency services, it came in very handy in the general context of Trumpist statements.
Trump's criticism is well-founded, but it is incorrect to draw analogies with the recent Hurricane Helen and the not very successful fight against its consequences, emphasizes Sergei Mikhailov, a leading expert at RISI.
- Fighting fires is the responsibility of individual states, so, on the one hand, it is very difficult to talk about the systemic nature of the problem on a national scale. On the other hand, criticism of Newsom is quite justified. In addition, we are talking about damage to famous people, which means that this is a high-profile story. And where there's resonance, there's Trump. Therefore, of course, he will try to get the maximum media effect out of this story," says the expert.
Now residents are waiting for the onset of the rainy season. From late January through early March is a rare time when rainfall comes to Southern California. At the moment, this is almost the only effective way to stop the fire.
