By: Iris Mbok, Year 12
Los Angeles, the city of angels, the entertainment capital of the world where people go to make a name for themselves. A blissful, untouchable town, where celebrities reside in their million dollar mansion detached from danger, as it is a concept they cannot begin to fathom. At 10:30 a.m. PST on January 7, fire was first reported, covering around 10 acres of mountains close to Pacific Palisades. It quickly began to spread due to severe drought in Southern California and extreme winds gusts reaching up to 130 kilometers per hour.
In early 2024, the mayor of Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass, revealed her budget plan for 2024-25, calling for a 2.7% reduction in spending at the Los Angeles Fire Department. Her proposal, unveiled in April, required an immense cut of an astonishing $23 million to the department, with much of it focused on reduced equipment purchases. The L.A. Fire Chief, Kristin Crowley, warned Mayor Karen Bass last month that this plan would severely limit the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for and respond to emergencies, especially considering the city’s history with wildfires. Back in 2020, California set a record for wildfires. Over the course of a single year, 8648 fires had burned through 4,304,379 acres of land, triggering backlash from the public towards the government considering the area is prone due to its extreme heat reducing the moisture in vegetation, consequently making it susceptible to ignition.
However, even though many insisted on holding the Mayor accountable for her reckless plan, Greg Pierce, a water-resource expert at UCLA expressed that he does not know “a water system in the world that is prepared for this type of event”, allowing for a more nuanced debate in which many claimed that even though these fires were inevitable, the region could have been better prepared.
Despite these fires seeming unfixable and uncontrollable, many have not lost hope yet and have found ways to help. The President of Mexico (Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo) is planning on sending a group of courageous firefighters from Mexico City to Southern California to assist with help and relief. At a recent press conference, she declared her support for the protection of the nature and lives of the people of Los Angeles, especially considering the prevalent Mexican community in the city. She powerfully stated that “Solidarity has no borders”, reinstalling hope in many American citizens, who during these hard times are lacking a leader who can guide them.
The President-elect, Donald. J. Trump and Elon Musk took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to blame diversity and inclusivity in the fire department and a delta smelt (a small fish) for the losses of 11 lives resulting from the wildfires. They claimed that the money the city of Los Angeles spent in creating a racial equity plan to ensure that workforces reflected a variety of backgrounds, could have gone towards the L.A. fire department instead. Additionally Trump reproached Governor Gavin Newsom for prioritizing the protection of small fish who go by the name “delta smelt” instead of the people of Los Angeles. Regardless, many clapped back pointing out that one singular donation from these two billionaires could have changed the course of these events.
Finally, it is important to maintain hope during these tough times and aid the city of Los Angeles as it navigates through these tough times.
