(DCNF)—MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said the “complete failure of government” in California allowed for the destruction of residences and communities by the five wildfires that set ablaze in areas of Los Angeles.
The city lacked the budget to adequately fill fire hydrants which allowed for the destruction of thousands of homes and the deaths of at least 10 people. Scarborough said it is still unknown what has caused Newsom’s administration’s “complete failure” to protect Californians’ homes and livelihoods, and argued that the lack of readiness by state governments to properly handle natural disasters has been a recurring phenomenon for several years.
“Happy Friday, if we can even say that with just the hellscape that is Los Angeles … We don’t know the exact causes for the complete failure of government to be able to protect these homes, I don’t think we can say it’s the smelt alone,” Scarborough said. “We don’t know what it is. But I do think it is going to be like Hurricane Katrina. I mean, the infrastructure has been slashed. You can’t just say it’s [Los Angeles Mayor] Karen Bass, you can’t just say it’s Gavin Newsom. This has been a trend for 30 years. Infrastructure has been slashed across America and you do have climate change, so you have wildfires sweeping into urban areas. They’re kind of like fighting the last war.”
“But I just … the longer we get into this, the more I think about how New Orleans didn’t invest in their levee system, how they didn’t invest in critical infrastructure, and people died because of it. It’s just hard to hear people say in one of the richest cities in the world say ‘Oh, we don’t have enough water to protect people’s homes,’” Scarborough continued.
An analysis from OpenTheBooks, a government transparency organization, found that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) lacked the budget to adequately fund fire hydrants despite having received substantial taxpayer-funded salaries. Several fire hydrants in the impacted areas ran dry and failed to combat the flames that spread across hundreds of neighborhoods.
Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley committed significant resources to an internal “racial equity plan” and other diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Over 100,000 residents in Pacific Palisades, Eaton Canyon and other communities had to evacuate their homes, with thousands returning to find their houses in ashes, according to the Los Angeles Times. Residents impacted by the fires told the Daily Caller News Foundation Wednesday that they were told to evacuate without warning and unexpectedly lost their houses and personal belongings.
EATON FIRE: Additional footage from today #California | #Altadena | #CaliforniaWildfires pic.twitter.com/FNUBvJMkm0
— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) January 9, 2025
EATON FIRE: Another shot from tonight obtained by @DailyCaller News Foundation. Being told winds are still pushing embers around making it incredibly hectic for officials to slow anything down. #Pasadena | #California pic.twitter.com/sqf1qlR3bl
— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) January 8, 2025
Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass traveled to Ghana for the inauguration of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama as the fires raged across her constituents’ backyards. Sky News reporter David Blevins caught the mayor off guard Wednesday as he asked if she owes an apology to the citizens of Los Angeles.
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