It’s been eight months since the California wildfires incinerated hundreds of homes and left charred scars stretching for miles in Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Altadena. The natives are getting restless, however. Angelenos want to know what officially caused these fires, which led to homelessness and despair and contributed to a corrosive and abiding distrust of local and state government competence.
What’s the holdup?
We’re getting closer to finding out the cause, ironically, not from the state’s congressional delegation and its two troubled senators, but rather because a Florida senator is demanding answers.
Senator Rick Scott, at the bidding of desperate Palisades fire victims, answered their pleas to get answers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The ATF took command of the investigation less than a week after the Palisades fire sparked at 10:30 a.m on Tuesday, January 7.
Scott met with Palisades fire victims, including Spencer Pratt, a cast member from the MTV show “The Hills,” who lost his home in the fire. Pratt has become a leading spokesman for fire victims. He arranged a meeting with Scott in the Palisades, where the senator promised to get a briefing from the ATF for fire victims.
Hellbound and Down 