The wildfire was making its way down the pacific Palisades steep terrain. The fires were nothing out of the ordinary for this strip of land that has always been considered the most valued acreage in the city of angels. But this time the wind was blowing opposite of it’s normal pattern and it was carrying the roaring beast straight into the mansions that had somehow survived the fires through the decades and had lived for years hanging between the Hollywood Hills and the Pacific Ocean. For Southern Californians the wildfires have become a way of life that is part of the baggage that goes along with being a west coaster. It had only been four weeks prior that a similar fire was ignited in the same location only to have the prevailing wind blow it out of harm’s way. Yes, the powers to be in gov’t knew the potential for disaster that was in front of them, the kind of tragic proportions that were becoming a realization. Yes, the residents of this picturesque Shangri-la were aware of the risk of fire one day destroying everything they held dear. The fact inconveniently is that the threat of this catastrophe was predictable and preventable with competent management. But as the fire raged through property after property in a blaze that the television reporters described as zero percent contained was now on its way to becoming the most destructive fire in American history. By day three there were no signs of containment along with the discovery of an empty reservoir and several dry fire hydrants. The pictures coming over the television screen were not some new frazzled apocalyptic dooms day movie, this wasn’t Artificial intelligence, or some Mad Max scenario, this was of the Golden State of California’s coastline burning up in the flames from hell.
The Governor of the state was seen squirming around his squadron of SUVs in his Tom Cruise aviator looking up at the “end of times” right before his eyes. Gavin Newsome had blood all over his guilt stained hands, but that was for another day’s jury. Today, he stood like Nero watching his empire burn to the ground. He had the look on his face of the Wizard after the curtain is pulled back and there is nothing there but for his lies. “Governor” shouted a young woman who noticed the slick pol sneaking around between vehicles in order not to be noticed, “Governor, what are you going to do?” she pleaded to his face. My daughter’s school is gone, houses in my neighborhood are burning to the ground and there is no water in the hydrants. I’m also hearing the nearby reservoir is dry, Governor, what are you going to do. Why is there no water?” The head person in charge of America’s most populated state, and arguably our most beautiful, was at a loss for words for the first time in his life. Still in his role as the slick sales guy Newsome waved his arms around, and with his glib smile gleaming on his bright red face he spun his tale of incompetence, “I’m doing everything in my power to fix this situation,” the man whose political future was officially going up in smoke said. “Why wasn’t anything done preparing for this day,” asked the mother of three, whose own house was now nothing but smoldering ashes. “I’m on the phone with the President Biden right now.” was the lie the embarrassed pol could fabricate as the flames flew high into the sky. The woman grabbed the phone from the president, and it was clear to see he was on the line with no one. The Governor was caught red handed at the scene of the crime with his pants hanging at his ankles. Gavin Newsome legacy of being the face of the most woke and incompetent leader amongst us was firmly secured.
The year was 2017 and Venice Beach was hopping. The drive along the Pacific Palisades was breath taking, an out of world experience. The sunshine hit you cruising on Ventura Highway with the kind of energy that was just right, not overly intense. As my wife and youngest daughter were heading east towards L.A. the right side was a sea of beautiful blue that seemed to go on forever. On the left were a series of fabulous structures cut out of the side of the mountain. ‘Man, I could get use to this view,’ I said to my wife as we pulled into a small café aside the ocean. ‘The water, the lifestyle, even the people aren’t that bad, I kind like the vibes.’ My wife who knows me better than anyone in this world shook her head with that smug look I’ve grown to respect. “You would absolutely hate it here.” Despite her negative spin I recall thinking to myself. ‘I’d like it here just fine’. Since 2017 there have been close to 100,000 wildfires reported in the state of California. Fortunately, there had never been one of the sorts that went in a different direction on January the 7th 2025. It was only a matter of time that one of these fires would ignite at a period of not only high winds but in a change in direction of the gale that forced the flames to the most populated areas. In the matter of the next few days the residents of the sprawling City of Los Angles were going to feel the cumulative pain of years and years of incompetence and mismanagement of their leaders at the highest of levels. In the saddest of ways Los Angeles’s Mayor, Karen Bass, and the state’s Governor Gavin Newsome’s chickens were home to roost.
As this human tragedy unfolds before the world’s eyes there will be ample time to dole out responsibility and accountability for a catastrophic event that could of and should have been prevented. For now, Californians must begin the long rebuild that will change the landscape of California well into the next century. There is always a time frame for accountability, but for now it should be about what can be done moving forward. The litany of mistakes and miscalculations that were made by so many corrupted politicians for so many years will be left for the voters to decide in future elections. The questions are being raised with the same intensity carried by the fiery inferno of destruction. Why were so many fire hydrants empty? Why has the underbrush not been cleared over the years by the department of forestry? Why has water that flows from the north continued to be redirected into the ocean and not into the populated areas of Los Angeles Counties? Was there an emergency evacuation plan for what local officials knew was inevitable? Five days after the spark that set the city of angels on fire there were still no answers and no relief in sight. Over the past several decades the people of Pacific Palisades California know that when the wind is having its way the potential for wildfire turning fatally on the residents was simply a matter of time. The residents are not to blame, but every one of them was aware of the risk-reward for living in this paradise built on weak and crusted sands. The residents, mostly wealthy celebrities, are now finding out the very hard way that the taxes they were paying were not being spent to protect them in any kind of efficient way.
There are the angry conspiracist theorists who believe this is a holy message that the city of angels had been taken over by leaders who had long ago made deals with the devil for secret underground travel and water shortages being created on purpose. The reality is the horrific fire that is now being labeled the mostly deadly and destructive fire in American history (So far 25 are dead and economic losses pegged at over 150 Billion). Today there is empathy for the thousands who lost everything, who stand in the black smoke in a knowing state of shock and dismay. They feared a day like this would arrive. The beast has hit with its full wrath and now money is needed, water is needed, and the preparations for the long road of recovery will begin. There will be decades of clean up to put in preventative measures that will assure that water supplies will not be depleted or empty ever again. The questions that have fallen upon deaf ears will now have to be answered. Why was water re-routed from northern California to the Pacific ocean? Why was a reservoir one mile from the height of the fires dry as a bone? Why had the Los Angeles Fire department cut 170,000,000 from their budget last year when the threat of wildfire was at the highest of levels in history? Why had there been such continual negligent mismanagement from state and local jurisdictions? In the meantime the facts are staggering, hundreds of thousands of individuals are misplaced without homes, thousands of commercial and residential properties are razed, and neighborhoods have 100% vanquished. The Pacific Palisades, that had been established by the Rothschild’s back in the 1920’s, and other deep seated American elitists’ families, as paradise for the angels amongst us, was burning hotter than the flames of hell.
Looking down the rows of houses you were eerily reminded of Berlin, Germany after the bombing that ended World War II. There were no colors to be seen, no bodies moving, the topography was in ashes, not a living creature was stirring for miles. It is said that out of fire there is a rebirth. “From the ashes come miracles.” With the devastation and death there will come a yearning for rebirth, of reincarnation to the land that had been raped and abused. There is never good timing for the type of calamity that Californians are facing. The world is already upside down with America coming off several national weather-related disasters in Asheville, North Carolina and the hurricanes suffered in Louisiana. But the wealthy elite (Rothchild’s, Kardashians, etc.….) don’t live in places like Asheville, North Carolina and East Palestine, Ohio, they live in those high rolling hills overlooking the blue Pacific. Of course, the victims of these demonic fires are in no way to blame, at the same time they were aware of the risks that they were taking to live in paradise that was always one strong wind blowing in the wrong way from being the end of Paradise. “The finest steel has to go through the hottest fire,” said a disgraced President Richard Nixon on his way out as being the first President to resign the office. For rebirth and reconciliation to take place there must first be truth. Good luck getting that at of Los Angles Mayor Karen Bass or the slick sheister that the citizens of the city of angels spawned as their own.
