MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said the âcomplete failure of governmentâ 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 Newsomâs administrationâs âcomplete failureâ to protect Californiansâ 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.
âHappy Friday, if we can even say that with just the hellscape that is Los Angeles ⌠We donât know the exact causes for the complete failure of government to be able to protect these homes, I donât think we can say itâs the smelt alone,â Scarborough said. âWe donât know what it is. But I do think it is going to be like Hurricane Katrina. I mean, the infrastructure has been slashed. You canât just say itâs  Karen Bass, you canât just say itâs 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. Theyâre kind of like fighting the last war.â
âBut I just ⌠the longer we get into this, the more I think about how New Orleans didnât invest in their levee system, how they didnât invest in critical infrastructure, and people died because of it. Itâs just hard to hear people say in one of the richest cities in the world say âOh, we donât have enough water to protect peopleâs homes,ââ Scarborough continued.
WATCH:
đş Embedded media â coming soon
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 âracial equity planâ 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.
Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass traveled to Ghana for the inauguration of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama as the fires raged across her constituentsâ 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.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporterâs byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with US, please contact [email protected].