Tag: wildfires

Fire and Fury: Overpaid Bureaucrat Responsible for Filling Up Fire Hydrants in LA County Rakes in $750K Per Year — The City’s Highest Paid Employee

As the Pacific Palisades neighborhood grapples with one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles County’s history, firefighters are confronting an unexpected challenge: dry fire hydrants.

The blaze, which has scorched approximately 16,000 acres and destroyed over 1,000 structures, has been exacerbated by powerful Santa Ana winds, with gusts reaching up to 100 mph.

The Palisades Fire, which has scorched over 25,000 acres, remains at 0% containment.

Similarly, the Eaton Fire near Pasadena has burned more than 5,000 acres and is also at 0% containment.

These fires have led to significant destruction, including the loss of over 1,000 structures and at least five fatalities. Evacuation orders have been issued for more than 150,000 residents as emergency services work tirelessly to manage the crisis, The Times reported.

These conditions have not only intensified the flames but also hindered aerial firefighting efforts, as aircraft have been grounded due to the severe winds.

On the ground, firefighters have reported that several hydrants in the area have run dry, severely hampering their efforts to control the inferno.

“There’s no water in the fire hydrants,” Rick Caruso, owner of the Palisades Village shopping center, told The Times. “The firefighters are there, and there’s nothing they can do — we’ve got neighborhoods burning, homes burning, and businesses burning. … It should never happen.”

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Biden Announces He’s Become A Great Grandaddy In The Middle Of Raging Fires Presser

Despite entire neighbourhoods burning to the ground in LA, with people losing their livelihoods and even their lives, Joe Biden blurted out in the middle of a press conference that there was some “good news.”

Talking about himself as usual, Biden said “My son lives out here and his wife and they got notification yesterday their home was probably burned to the ground. Today it appears it may be still standing but not sure.”

He then declared “The good news is, I’m a great-grandfather as of today!”

“My eldest granddaughter had a 10 pound four once baby girl – – baby boy,” Biden continued, adding “So I’ll remember this day for a lot longer.”

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What Started L.A.’s Firestorm? Hint: It’s Not ‘Climate Change.’

Firefighters say that L.A.’s hellacious firestorm started at 10:30 Tuesday morning in Topanga Canyon. This paradise is — was? — filled with bespoke homes and came with built-in privacy — a rare commodity. People have been uprooted, their family memories are in ashes, and they have to find a place to sleep tonight. Evacuated entertainment stars such as James Woods, Ben Affleck, Eugene Levy, and more likely haven’t had a chance to ask this secondary question: What started this fire? 

First, any number of things could have started the fire that turned into a conflagration that destroyed untold numbers of homes and scorched at least 3,000 acres — and counting — of prime Los Angeles area real estate. Someone could have flicked a cigarette butt out the window. Car exhaust could have sparked dry brush on the side of the road. Arsonists have been known to purposely set fires in Southern California. 

Or maybe it was the same thing that started fires in the past: homeless encampments.

In 2021, Topanga Canyon residents were so concerned with homeless encampments and fire danger that they ostensibly “banned” them. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted to ban homeless camps because cooking dinner or drugs outside in dry brush is a really dumb idea. 

Film producer and conservative Mike Cernovich predicts that before the embers are put out of the Palisades fire, a Hollywood “sh*tlib” will blame it not on homeless encampments or an arsonist but on climate change. 

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L.A. Officials Complain There Aren’t Enough Firefighters – After Firing Hundreds Who Refused to Take COVID Vaccine

As fires rage across Los Angeles, city officials are complaining there are not enough firefighters to manage the situation.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said that the department was incapable of managing such a massive natural disaster.

“There are not enough firefighters in all of Los Angeles County to address four separate fires of this magnitude,” he said.

“The LA County Fire Department was prepared for one or two major wildfires, but not the four. This is not a normal red flag alert.”

While their lack of manpower is completely understandable given the incredible ferocity of the fires, it is worth noting that many firefighters were fired for their refusal to take the COVID vaccine.

As pointed out by the popular End Wokeness account X, local news media even ran reports back in 2021 about how firefighters had their employment terminated after refusing to provide proof of vaccination or requesting an exemption.

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How years of corruption and mismanagement led to LA running out of water in the middle of the Palisades wildfire

As Los Angeles firefighters faced down the most destructive blaze in the city’s history, they ran out of water.

“The hydrants are down,” a firefighter said over the radio, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Another chipped in: “Water supply just dropped.”

Fire crews were forced to watch as entire blocks of the Pacific Palisades — one of the most scenic and celeb-packed neighborhoods in LA — were incinerated in a matter of hours late Tuesday and early Wednesday.

“There’s no water in the fire hydrants,” Rick Caruso, who owns the Palisades Village mall in the heart of the devastated area, fumed to local media. “The firefighters are there, and there’s nothing they can do — we’ve got neighborhoods burning, homes burning, and businesses burning. … It should never happen.”

The water shortage was the result of years of mismanagement of LA’s water system — including a federal indictment of a leader and high-profile resignations — as well as major operational problems that drained reserves too quickly.

The Pacific Palisades fire, whipped up by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds, destroyed more than 1,000 homes and businesses. By Wednesday night, it had spread to 16,000 acres (25 square miles), bigger than the island of Manhattan in New York — and crews had not managed to contain any of it.

LA residents voiced their outrage over the conditions that allowed the fire — and two other blazes in Los Angeles County — to rage out of control. Five people had died as of Wednesday night, several others were injured and at least 70,000 were told to evacuate their homes across the LA area.

Adding insult, Democratic Mayor Karen Bass was 7,400 miles away in Africa, and months earlier she had approved an $18 million cut to the fire department.

“RESIGN! WHY ARE YOU IN GHANA?!,” one person commented on an X post by Bass’ office giving an update on the wildfires.

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Firetrucks Use Garden Hoses From Residential Homes to Fill Up Water Tanks as Hydrants Run Dry

Life is hell on earth under full Democrat control.

Wednesday evening marked day two of the horrifying fires ravaging Los Angeles.

More than 100,000 people have been evacuated in the greater Los Angeles area as tens of thousands of acres burn.

Thanks to incompetent Democrats such as LA Mayor Karen Bass, the fire hydrants have run dry and there are not enough resources to fight the wildfires.

Fire trucks are using garden hoses from residential homes to fill up their water tanks after hydrants run dry.

There is no water north of Woodbury in Altadena, according to a Fox 11 reporter.

The fire in Altadena (Eaton fire) is raging out of control. As of Wednesday evening, it was reported that the fire in Altadena is zero percent contained.

At least five people have died in the Eaton fire. Thousands of homes and structures have burned down.

“We saw something really incredible. See this hose? This garden hose? This is connected to the firetruck and this homeowner is filling up the firetruck tank with their hose so that they can fight these fires because they are out of water,” a Fox 11 reporter said.

“Everywhere north of Woodbury – none of the fire hydrants have any water in them which is why these homeowners – you see them spraying, the flames themselves with the garden hose,” the reporter said.

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LA’s Incompetent Mayor Karen Bass Reads the Words “URL” Off Her Script During Presser Instead of Giving Emergency Website For Fire Victims

The hits just keep coming.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass held a press conference to brief the public on the ongoing wildfires raging out of control in her city and the greater LA area.

As of Wednesday evening, the several fires burning in Los Angeles are zero percent contained.

Gusty Santa Ana Winds and dry fire hydrants are making it nearly impossible for firefighters to contain the fire.

LA’s incompetent and corrupt Mayor, Karen Bass, was actually in Africa when the fires exploded in her city.

Karen Bass slashed Fire Department funding by $17.6 million a few months before the fires erupted on Tuesday.

Los Angeles firefighters couldn’t even battle the inferno because the hydrants went dry.

Earlier Wednesday a Sky News reporter cornered Karen Bass and absolutely torched her over her failed policies.

Later Wednesday evening Karen Bass held a press briefing and she couldn’t even read a script.

Karen Bass pulled a Joe Biden and literally read the words “URL” off her script instead of giving those in need the emergency website.

“All of this can be found at URL,” Karen Bass said.

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Vital LA Firefighting Equipment Was Handed To Ukraine, Reports Show, As Americans Now Caught In Raging Inferno

As of Wednesday afternoon the fast-moving, wind-driven fires sweeping through the Los Angeles areaare still zero percent contained, resulting in ongoing evacuations for 50,000+ residents.

Hundreds of thousands of residential and commercial locations have been left without power in the LA area as the natural disaster has become so large in proportion that it has captured the nation’s attention. Many have been naturally focused on ‘thoughts and prayers’ for heroic LA and California firefighters, and their hoped-for ability to push back the raging inferno. But several local headlines from prior years make clear that area firefighters could have had more resources to draw from, if significant emergency response supplies and items weren’t sent to Zelensky…

“Los Angeles County fire crews are sending some of their extra equipment to firefighters in Ukraine,” a local March 2022 story reads. “The plane carrying that much-needed surplus equipment, such as hoses, nozzles, turnouts, helmets, body armor and other personal protective gear, is expected to take off Friday.”

This began in the opening months of the Russian invasion, and appears to have continued at various times over the last couple years, with large expensive items like firetrucks having been shipped oversees as well.

Putting America “Ukraine first” is the Biden bad foreign policy idea that keeps on giving… and taking away from American citizens caught in the throes of emergency and disaster

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LA Mayor Karen Bass cut fire department funding by $17.6M — months before wildfires turned city into hellscape

The Los Angeles Fire Department had its budget cut by a staggering $17.6 million this financial year, records show — as fire crews continue to battle out-of-control blazes ravaging the City of Angels.

The drastic decrease in funding for the fire department was the second-largest cut to come out of embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass‘ 2024-25 fiscal year budget, according to city figures.

The police budget, meanwhile, increased by $126 million, a graphic shared by LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia shows.

Bass had initially wanted to cut the fire department by even more — a staggering $23 million.

The details on Bass’ budget slashing resurfaced as the mayor faced widespread backlash Wednesday after it was revealed she was away in Africa for the Ghana president’s inauguration — even as wind-whipped wildfires turned parts of her city into an apocalyptic hellscape.

In her absence, Bass found time to praise firefighters and other emergency crews for working “overnight to protect Angelenos affected by fires.”

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San Bernardino wildfire started by suspected arsonist

A California man has been arrested in connection with the San Bernardino Line Fire, which has scorched tens of thousands of acres of forestland. The wildfire, which began last week, has led to significant damage and the evacuation of residents in affected areas.Justin Wayne Halstenberg, a 34-year-old resident of Norco, California, was taken into custody following an investigation by the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department into the wildfire that has resulted in over 34,000 acres being burned. 

“Highland Station detectives, in collaboration with Cal Fire investigators, identified Justin Wayne Halstenberg as the suspect who started a fire in the area of Baseline Road and Alpin Street in the city of Highland, also known as the Line Fire, on September 5, 2024,” said the sheriff’s office in a press release.

Halstenberg has been a delivery driver for FedEx since last year and previously worked at the US Postal Service, according to the New York Post. He is facing multiple charges, including arson of an inhabited structure, arson of forest land, and possession of flammable material.

Authorities have not provided further details on how Halstenberg is suspected of starting the fire. He is currently being held at San Bernardino’s Central Detention Center on $80,000 bail, with a court appearance scheduled for Thursday.

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