Tag: wildfires

Questions Surround $100 Million in ‘Fire Aid’ for Los Angeles

Questions are being raised about how the roughly $100 million raised by “Fire Aid” concerts in the aftermath of the Los Angeles fires earlier this year is being spent — with some claiming victims are receiving nothing.

The star-studded bill for the benefit concert, held on two separate stages, raised a massive sum. But many residents of the Pacific Palisades and Malibu (Palisades Fire), and of Altadena and Pasadena (Eaton Fire), say they have not benefited.

There have been two significant local investigations by local news outlets, each of which came to different — though not necessarily contradictory — conclusions about Fire Aid’s money.

The first, by ABC affiliate KABC-7, concluded that the money was being well-spent — on organizations:

Roughly 120 organizations split $50 million when the first round of FireAid funds was released in February. 7 On Your Side tried reaching out to every single one of them, and heard back from more than 50 to find out how the money is being used.

…

The Pasadena Humane Society used $250,000 from FireAid to treat and house pets burned and left homeless by the flames.

Heal the Bay received $100,000 and used it to test for contaminants along our coast.

However, Circling the News, as highlighted by local Fox affiliate KTTV,  found that few victims had benefited.

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Kristi Noem claims 1 in 6 survivors of Lahaina wildfires were forced to trade sexual favors for supplies

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has claimed one in six survivors of the Lahaina wildfires in Hawaii had to trade sexual and other favors to get basic supplies.

The comments were seemingly in reference to a report on female Filipino survivors, which one of the authors called a “gross manipulation” of the report, according to Politico.

At a review meeting for the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday, Noem said, ​​“After the wildfires in Maui, residents voiced concerns that every FEMA employee that they spoke with had different answers.”

“None of them had conversations that resulted in getting assistance that was helpful or any clarity in their situations,” she added. “The situation in Lahaina was so bad that one in six survivors were forced to trade sexual favors, other favors for just basic supplies.”

The study on Filipino female survivors was conducted by Tagnawa, which states that it is a “Filipino feminist disaster response organization” in Hawaii. The review included responses from 70 female Filipino fire survivors and found that 16 percent had engaged in “survival sex in exchange for basic necessities post-disaster,” with “a landlord, an employer, family members, friends and acquaintances.”

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AND THERE IT IS: California Governor Gavin Newsom Announces Funding for New ‘Multifamily Rental Housing’ After LA Wildfires

This week, we learned that less than 100 building permits have been issued in Los Angeles, six months after the destructive wildfires that destroyed entire neighborhoods like the Pacific Palisades.

Now California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced $101 million in funding for new ‘multifamily rental housing’ as a solution for housing displaced residents in the area. It almost seems like this was the goal all along.

Who could have predicted such a thing?

From the governor’s website:

Governor Newsom commits $101 million to jumpstart critical rebuilding efforts after LA Fires

Los Angeles, California – Six months after the LA Fires, Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) announced the release of $101 million to help rapidly rebuild critically needed, affordable multifamily rental housing in the fire-devastated Los Angeles region. Thousands of families are still displaced by the wildfires that raged through the Greater Los Angeles Region in January 2025, placing an incredible strain on an already tight rental market.

Tomiquia Moss, Secretary of the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency: “The State’s special Multifamily Finance Super NOFA will galvanize the collective public-private response to the wildfires in Los Angeles County, expediting and expanding opportunities to build affordable housing for low-income residents. By prioritizing affordable housing projects that are ready to go, these funds will accelerate household stability, climate and health outcomes in communities.”

No one seems very surprised by this.

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Six Months After California Wildfires, Less Than 100 Building Permits Have Been Issued in Los Angeles

The wildfires that ravaged southern California and destroyed thousands of homes in the Pacific Palisades and other neighborhoods happened six months ago, and yet, less than 100 building permits have been issued.

Adam Carolla’s predictions from January are coming true.

The rebuilding process has been so slow that many people in the area have decided to sell their destroyed homes rather than try to rebuild.

How is it even possible that so little has been done?

From KTLA News:

It’s been six months since wildfires devastated Pacific Palisades, Altadena and other parts of Southern California, and a prominent local figure has called out political leaders for what he sees as a lack of action.

Developer Rick Caruso took to social media on Monday to lambast local government officials for “endless red tape” causing what he calls a lack of progress in rebuilding after the fires. Caruso challenged Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for that position in 2022.

“Thousands of homes were destroyed, and yet fewer than 100 building permits have been issued after six months,” he wrote alongside a video promoting his nonprofit Steadfast LA. “Does anyone believe this is rapid rebuilding?”

Caruso does cite some progress — power lines will be rebuilt underground, for instance — though he also criticizes officials for a focus on “lofty rhetoric” instead of answers for fire victims and tangible action on the ground.

It looks like nothing has been done, other than clearing some debris.

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SoCal Police to Use Drones to Catch Illegal Fireworks on July 4

Police in fire-ravaged Southern California, plan to use drones to catch people who use illegal fireworks on and around the Fourth of July celebrations.

While many, even in California, might ordinarily balk at the use of drones for surveillance and law enforcement, the fact that recent Los Angeles wildfires could have been sparked by illegal fireworks means that many communities are on edge entering Independence Day week.

The Pasadena Star-News reports:

Revelers who once could illegally ignite fireworks and scatter before police officers arrive or who suffer from collective amnesia when questioned about who lit the fuse may still find themselves lighter in the wallet. For the first time in parts of Southern California, stealthy aerial surveillance will attempt to nab them in the act.

Riverside, Hemet and Brea, and possibly other cities, will launch drones to film illegal activity as municipalities increasingly marry new technology with old-fashioned legislation to prevent injuries and the type of fast-moving fires that devastated the region in January.

Offenders or their landlords will then receive a surprise: Those cities are mailing citations to property owners, in some cases without ever first contacting them, regardless of whether they were present when the fireworks sparkled, smoked or skyrocketed.

While the Eaton Fire, which erupted in Pasadena and Altadena on January 7, was likely caused by faulty power lines, the Palisades Fire on the other side of town was likely caused by a reignited fire that originally started on New Year’s Day due to illegal fireworks, local residents believe.

Governor Gavin Newsom’s office issued a warning: “The sale, transport, or use of fireworks without the ‘Office of the State Fire Marshal Safe and Sane’ seal is illegal, as is possessing or using any fireworks in communities where they are not allowed. Violators face potential fines up to $50,000 as well as a year in jail.”

The governor’s office said that 600,000 pounds of illegal fireworks had been seized in 2025 thus far.

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Gavin Newsom Tries to Blame Trump for California Wildfires; Still Wants Trump to Sign $40 Billion for Fire Relief

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) tried to blame President Donald Trump for the spread of wildfires across the state on Wednesday, claiming National Guard soldiers had been pulled from firefighting to stop riots.

Newsom made the accusation while still seeking $40 billion in federal relief funds for California in the next congressional spending bill, which Trump would have to sign into law after passage by a Republican majority.

There are currently eight wildfires burning in California, with evacuations ordered near Sacramento and San Diego.

A statement from Newsom’s office said:

As multiple fires burn across the state today, a critical firefighting resource is short-staffed due to President Trump’s illegal federalization of California’s National Guard troops.

CAL FIRE crews responding to the Monte Fire in San Diego have had to fill in gaps left by a California National Guard (CalGuard) Joint Task Force Rattlesnake team that is understaffed due to the federalization of some of its members.

Task Force Rattlesnake is made up of over 300 California National Guard members, who work at the direction of CAL FIRE to help fight and prevent fires. More than half of that team has been diverted to Los Angeles as part of President Trump’s illegal federalization of the Guard.

What the governor’s office refers to as “illegal” could soon be upheld as legal by the Ninth Circuit. Politico reported Wednesday that the three-judge panel — including one appointed by President Joe Biden — “sharply questioned Newsom’s argument that Trump had failed to sufficiently justify his decision to send 4,000 National Guard troops to protect federal buildings and support immigration authorities as they conduct arrests and enforcement operations.”

Newsom declined to blame rioters who attacked federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and local police. He also evaded the fact that his administration has failed to clear brush in forests for years.

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Dating app killer whose cover-up of grisly crime led to one of the worst fires in California history thrown behind bars for life

An online date that led to murder, arson, deceit, more deaths and one of the worst fires in California’s history has finally ended with a guilty verdict and prison sentence.

Victor Serriteno, 33, was convicted Friday in the 2020 killing of a single mom he had met through a dating app — as well as the murders of two additional victims who burned to death in a fire he set to cover his tracks, according to KSW Action News.

Serriteno, of Vacaville, was found guilty of multiple counts of murder and arson in Solano County Superior Court and sentenced to 73 years-to-life in state prison, according to the district attorney’s office.

He had pleaded no contest.

The convicted killer met his victim, Priscilla Castro, a 32-year-old mother from Vallejo, on the evening of Aug. 16, 2020, after arranging a meeting through a dating app.

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Second teen accused of sparking NJ wildfire that has torched 15K acres in Pine Barrens

A second teenager is accused of sparking the massive wildfire in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens.

A 17 year-old boy was charged with aggravated arson and hindering apprehension Wednesday for helping to ignite the fire that has burned more than 15,000 acres, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. He is not being identified because he is a minor.

Police say the teen helped Joseph Kling, 19, set wooden pallets on fire and that he lied to police about how the fire started.

Kling was arrested last week and charged with aggravated arson. He now faces an additional charge of hindering apprehension.

New Jersey firefighters battled the fierce blaze in the southern part of the state that took days to contain, and was thought to be the largest wildfire in the Garden State in the last 20 years.

A column of smoke was first spotted from the Cedar Bridge Fire Tower in Barnegat Township on April 22, and the fire quickly spread out of control, forcing the evacuation of 5,000 residents, and cutting electricity to 25,000 Garden Staters.

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L.A.’s rebuilding nightmare: Only 4 permits issued after fire destroys 6,000 homes

Nearly three months after wildfires ravaged Pacific Palisades, reducing 6,000 structures to ash, the City of Los Angeles has issued a mere four rebuilding permits — an agonizingly slow pace that has left displaced residents in bureaucratic limbo. Meanwhile, city officials diverted resources to demolish a 20-year-old family treehouse over permit violations, sparking outrage among homeowners who say the government’s priorities are catastrophically misplaced.

As victims of the January inferno struggle to navigate a labyrinth of red tape, builder Alexis Rivas revealed the city lost his pre-approved fire rebuild application — forcing him to restart the entire process. At the same time, Mayor Karen Bass, already grappling with a $1 billion budget deficit, is seeking an additional $1.9 billion state bailout on top of $2.5 billion in fire aid — even as she threatens to label fire-ravaged properties as “nuisances” if owners don’t clear debris quickly.

The glacial pace of recovery has drawn sharp criticism from local leaders, including Councilwoman Traci Park, who called the permit backlog “concerning” and warned of “hundreds of billions in economic losses.”

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Report: California’s Gavin Newsom Refuses to Release Texts, Emails About L.A. Fires

Governor Gavin Newsom is reportedly refusing to release text messages and emails to and from Los Angeles city and county officials regarding the recent wildfires, claiming that they are “exempt” from publication.

As Breitbart News noted earlier this week, Los Angeles Karen Bass has deleted her text messages about the Palisades fire. Bass told local Fox affiliate KTTV-11  in a news conference: “My phone did automatic delete after thirty days.”

The outlet also asked Newsom for his text messages with the mayor and with Los Angeles county, and was denied.

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