PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — With the Los Angeles County fires still raging, the disaster has caused a backlash on both state and local leadership. Some residents told the Daily Caller News Foundation the fire was just the latest frustration with how the Democratic state is being run.
Evacuation orders began Tuesday in the coastal Southern California town of Pacific Palisades, but by evening more areas of the county were under threat as other fires sparked in various areas. By Wednesday morning, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom had canceled his trip to Washington, D.C., in order to visit some of the destruction sites in Pacific Palisades that same day and Thursday.
However, despite the governor’s attempt to dismiss President-elect Trump’s criticism of his leadership as a way to “politicize” the situation, residents affected in Pacific Palisades and Altadena have voiced how the fires are just another example of failed leadership.
A local Palisades security guard, who asked to remain anonymous, told DCNF about his disappointment with Newsom and Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, noting how the two “dropped the ball” on their guidance during the crisis.
“They need to really consider what they tell the public and what they really do in reality,” he told DCNF.
Frustrations among Los Angeles residents have grown in recent years, with the city’s rising crime and homelessness crisis becoming major concerns, making the fires a tipping point.
The Palisades security guard told DCNF that the city’s leadership has not only failed in its response to the fires but has “flopped” on homelessness funding. He questioned where the money has gone, given that the issue remains unresolved.
“You know, it’s funny that they get all this funding and then they come to flop it. What happened to Project Roomkey, Project [Homekey]? These are the homeless shelter projects,” the local guard continued. “You have all these projects. How many are in existence right now? You spent all that goddamn money [and] we had surplus. Where did the money go?”
WATCH:
DOWNTOWN LA: Skid row looks like a dystopian zombie land with the ash. Also reminder — the county has spent BILLIONS for homelessness to be addressed and it looks like everyone on the streets are comfortably situated at this point.#LosAngeles | #California pic.twitter.com/hVxTPL1A1l
— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) January 9, 2025
California has been repeatedly called out for spending billions on issues like homelessness and other social justice programs. According to a report conducted by Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia, the official found that during the fiscal year 2023-2024, nearly half of Los Angeles’ $1.3 billion homelessness budget wasn’t spent, leaving $512,690,810 million of tax-payer dollars unmarked.
Throughout the week, both Bass and Newsom have been confronted by media and local residents for their handling of the fires, with one emotional mother in Pacific Palisades confronting the governor. She was seen begging the Democratic governor how he plans to help Southern California residents left with nothing.
Despite the woman’s pleas, the governor claimed he was on the phone with President Joe Biden to discuss the situation, before promptly saying he could not reach the president after trying to call “five times.”
Writer and local Altadena resident who goes by the name Peachy Keenan online echoed similar sentiments about Newsom’s leadership within the state, highlighting how she believed the mismanagement was shown during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns.
“Newsom has been a giant failure since the beginning. Obviously, during COVID, he was so bad, and he was such a hypocrite, you know, with the draconian rules. [Then] there was a recall, but of course, he survived it, because at that point, COVID was so political,” Keenan told DCNF.
“But I really do feel like with everything else he’s done, [with] the taxes, California is just like this basket case,” Keenan added. “He keeps blaming it on Trump, on the far right wing misinformation. Like to this day, he’s blaming it on misinformation. He’s never taken accountability for the homeless crisis, the drugs.”
Keenan continued to tell DCNF how the silver lining from the crisis could be that residents’ will be moving away from their Democratic loyalties, stating this could be the “final straw” for many who supported lawmakers like Newsom.
“I always thought the only way to dislodge these people [Democrats] is when the big earthquake strikes, when everything is decimated, people are starving, there’s no water, they’re like dying and hurt and no one’s coming to help them. That’s the only way to dislodge Gavin Newsom,” Keenan said. “But guess what? We just had our big one like this was the big one. There’s fewer deaths than there would be like a huge earthquake. But there’s more destruction.”
“There’s more financial loss than there would have been in an earthquake. I can’t even believe what’s going on here in Altadena,” Keenan added. “So many of my friends have lost homes … Like, it’s crazy how affected everyone I know knows somebody … Everyone has found who the villain is here. And guess what? It’s not Donald Trump for the first time, you know? People have found out who to blame and it’s the people you voted for.”
Fire hydrants in Pacific Palisades and Altadena were reported to have been down or had low water pressure on Wednesday, with officials confirming the situation during a press conference.
On Wednesday President-elect Donald Trump called out the Democratic governor, stating how he had been attempting to warn about the state’s water mismanagement. In response to Trump’s criticism, Newsom told CNN on Wednesday, notably while standing outside of a burning home, that the incoming president was allegedly attempting to “politicize” the situation.
Video footage obtained by DCNF shows one of the many residential areas in Pacific Palisades burned almost completely to the ground. Some homes were left in rubble and brick, while others had minor damage to the buildings
WATCH:
PALISADES FIRE: Got up near Bel-Air Bay Club — homes gone, one was going up in flames and saw people who lived in the area try to assess the damage to where they lived. Felt like a scene out of a horror film @DailyCaller #PalisadesFire | #CaliforniaWildfires pic.twitter.com/zCLbl8wwHk
— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) January 10, 2025
A few locals could be seen hiking up the streets to check on their houses or what they were left with. Others walked down from the burned areas and were seen on the beach walking path, dragging suitcases and other belongings.
WATCH:
PALISADES FIRE: Got up near Bel-Air Bay Club — homes gone, one was going up in flames and saw people who lived in the area try to assess the damage to where they lived. Felt like a scene out of a horror film @DailyCaller #PalisadesFire | #CaliforniaWildfires pic.twitter.com/zCLbl8wwHk
— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) January 10, 2025
— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) January 10, 2025
A local Altadena resident, who is still under evacuation order from her home, called out California’s leadership and the lack of resources, noting to DCNF how they had been aware of the state’s infamous Santa Ana winds for weeks.
“Well, I just think that our leadership in California is horrible. I think that they don’t pay any attention to our needs or anything,” the Altadena resident said. “We knew this wind was coming for over a week. They were talking about this wind that was coming. Every time there’s wind like this, there’s always disasters and there was nothing to do. So they didn’t even make sure we had water in the fire hydrants.”
The local resident continued to state how she was concerned with the reports of looting, before adding her surprise of how voters have continued to elect Newsom and others like Bass into office.
“I don’t know how we keep electing people like this. And Bass, you know, the mayor of LA, what an idiot she is,” the Altadena resident told DCNF.
“You know we tried to get [Gascon] out and twice — people kept voting for him,” the Altadena resident added. “I don’t understand how these people in California keep voting people like this in. So I’ve lost a lot of confidence in the people who are voting.”
A 76-year-old local Pasadena resident, who was evacuated from her home due to the Eaton Canyon fire, called out the state’s leadership as well, stating if it wasn’t for her city’s guidance she would “be in a lot of trouble.”
“It was a good thing that we had leadership in the city of Pasadena because if I had to require or rely on the state and national leadership who was busy coming here for some unknown reason, I would be in a lot of trouble,” the Pasadena resident told DCNF.
“I wouldn’t vote for him [Gavin Newsom] if he was the last person on earth,” she continued. “But don’t worry, he looked good for the photo op with Biden.”
When asked about Bass’ response to Los Angeles residents, the 76-year-old told DCNF locals need to “kick that woman to the curb.”
After taking office in 2022, Bass notably cut the Los Angeles Fire Department’s (LAFD) budget by $17.6 million for fiscal year 2024-2025. However, she claimed during a press conference in response to the outrage that none of the cuts “would have impacted the situation that we were dealing with over the last couple of days.”
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