Details continue to surface on official’s’ responses to the devastating Los Angeles fires, and it is becoming increasingly clear that the state was ill-prepared and has dropped the ball on key decisions. Now, California State Representative Carl DeMaio is demanding that politicians answer for their failures — and he’s sent a letter asking President-elect Donald Trump to order a federal investigation to unearth any wrongdoing.
“A number of alarming revelations indicate gross negligence by California state and local officials contributed to the severity of this disaster – and we simply cannot trust California politicians to do a proper investigation and provide honest answers to the public,” said DeMaio.
While the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigates the cause of the fires, DeMaio recommends a larger federal investigation involving multiple agencies in his letter to President Trump.
DeMaio’s Assembly office issued a statement outlining the following examples of gross negligence and potential involvement of federal agencies in a probe:
- Regulations Prohibiting Proper Brush Management: California politicians have enacted insane regulations that make it hard for property owners to clear defensible space around their homes – and both state and local agencies have utterly failed to adequately clear brush on public lands. (Suggested Lead: Department of Interior – Wildland Fire Program)
- Inadequate Water for Firefighting: The nearest reservoir to the Pacific Palisades fire was kept bone dry and fire hydrants ran out of water for firefighting. (Suggested Lead: Federal Emergency Management Agency)
- Failure to Provide Adequate Insurance: Many fire victims have inadequate fire insurance coverage because of recent policy cancellations. With the losses mounting from these fires, California’s insurance industry could now be pushed into financial collapse. While state politicians blame “climate change” for the insurance problems, industry experts say state government policies – including rampant inflation in California and high cost of housing repairs – are the real drivers. (Suggested Lead: Department of Treasury – Federal Insurance Office)
- Failure to Shut Off Power Utilities: Even though strong winds were predicted days in advance of the fire, the government-run utility department failed to shut off power and video captured power lines sparking fires hours after the emergency began. (Suggested Lead: Department of Energy – Office of Inspector General)
- Failure to Properly Staff Fire Department: Local politicians have chronically underfunded and understaffed their fire departments – while terminating firefighters over vaccine mandates and diverting mission-oriented training resources to wasteful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. (Suggested Lead: Federal Emergency Management Agency)
DeMaio says a federal investigation is needed because “Newsom has dismissed criticisms – and worse, he has a pattern of being disingenuous and dishonest with the public on a wide-range of failings of his administration.”
DeMaio has also requested that the U.S. Congress hold public hearings into the LA fires.
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