Los Angeles Fire: Californians Demanding to Know Who is at Fault
NEW DELHI, Jan 11: Californians have demanded to know who is at fault for the vast devastation caused by the raging Los Angeles wildfires, as a strict curfew went into force to prevent looting and lawlessness.
At least 11 people died as flames ripped through neighbourhoods and razed thousands of homes in a disaster that U.S. President Joe Biden likened to a “war scene.”
While the citizens grappled with the heart-rending ruin, anger has risen over officials’ preparedness and response, particularly for a series of false evacuation alarms and after hydrants ran dry as firefighters battled the initial blazes.
Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday ordered a “full independent review” of the city’s utilities, describing the lack of water supplies during the initial fires as “deeply troubling.” “We need answers to how that happened,” he wrote in an open letter.
Residents like Nicole Perri, whose home in the upscale Pacific Palisades burnt down, said the officials “completely let us down.” “I don’t think the officials were prepared at all,” said James Brown, a 65-year-old retired lawyer across the city in Altadena.
A flare-up late Friday prompted new mandatory evacuations from ritzy neighbourhoods along the fire’s eastern flank, which include the famous Getty Centre. Built at a cost of $1 billion and constructed partly of fire-resistant travertine stone, the acclaimed museum boasts 1,25,000 artworks.
Meanwhile, as fears of looting grow, a sunset-to-sunrise curfew took effect in evacuated areas. Around two dozen arrests have already been made across Los Angeles, where some residents have organized street patrols and kept armed watch over their own houses. “If we see you in these areas, you will be subject to arrest,” Los Angeles Police Department chief Jim McDonnell said.
The National Guard has been deployed to bolster law enforcement. Five separate fires have so far burned more than 37,000 acres destroying around 10,000 buildings, California’s fire agency reported. The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office confirmed an additional fatality on Friday bringing the overall death toll so far to 11.
“It reminded me of more of a war scene, where you had certain targets that were bombarded,” said Mr Biden, as he received a briefing on the fires at the White House. Winds calmed on Friday providing a much-needed if fleeting window of opportunity for firefighters battling blazes around the clock for a fourth consecutive day.
At the biggest of the blazes, in Pacific Palisades and Malibu, firefighters said they were starting to get the fire under control, with eight percent of its perimeter contained. “Braveheart” actor Mel Gibson was the latest celebrity to reveal his Malibu home had burned down telling the loss was “devastating.”
Meanwhile the Eaton Fire in the Altadena area was 3%contained, with fire chief Jason Schillinger reporting “significant progress” in quelling the blaze. A third fire that exploded on Thursday afternoon near the wealthy Hidden Hills enclave, home to celebrities like Kim Kardashian, was 50% surrounded.
But emergency chiefs warned the situation is “still very dangerous” and reprieve from the intense gusts that spread embers will not last. “The winds have died down today, but… are going to increase again in the coming days,” said Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Authorities have said it was too early to know the cause of the blazes. Mr Biden took a veiled swipe at incoming president Donald Trump, who has spread misinformation over the flames that has then been amplified on social media.
“You’re going to have a lot of demagogues out there trying to take advantage of it,” Mr Biden said of the fires. Governor Newsom, who has been blamed for the disaster by the president-elect, invited Mr Trump to visit Los Angeles and survey the devastation with him. “In the spirit of this great country, we must not politicize human tragedy or spread disinformation from the sidelines,” said Mr Newsom.
Wildfires occur naturally, but scientists say human-caused climate change is altering weather and changing the dynamics of the blazes. Two wet years in southern California have given way to a very dry one, leaving ample fuel on the ground primed to burn.
Emergency managers apologized Friday after false evacuation alerts were erroneously sent to millions of mobile phones, sparking panic. “I can’t express enough how sorry I am,” said Kevin McGowan, the director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management.
(Manas Dasgupta)
