Democratic environmental and diversity policies might just be to blame for the wildfires that are raging through Los Angeles, notably the posh Pacific Palisades area that is home to far-left Hollywood celebrities.
In October, the Biden administration stopped the controlled burns that exhaust the fuel on the forest floor before it can feed an uncontrolled wildfire.
Going viral on X (no wonder) is President-elect Donald Trump’s warning to California Governor Gavin Newsom, a woke Democrat, in 2019, when almost 8,000 fires burned almost 300,000 acres. Clean the forest floors, Trump warned.
And two years ago, “diversity, equity, and inclusion” became the top priority of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) when the city elders hired an aging lesbian to run it.
No More Prescribed Burns
Though the wildfires’ cause is yet unknown, one recent decision didn’t help matters. The Biden administration stopped controlled burns in the state.
Controlled burns involve deliberately-set fires to burn the detritus and debris that accumulate on forest floors.
“By ridding a forest of dead leaves, tree limbs, and other debris, a prescribed burn can help prevent a destructive wildfire,” as the National Geographic Society explains:
Controlled burns can also reduce insect populations and destroy invasive plants. In addition, fire can be rejuvenating. It returns nutrients to the soil in the ashes of vegetation that could otherwise take years to decompose. And after a fire, the additional sunlight and open space in a forest can help young trees and other plants start to grow.
Some plants, such as certain pine species, require fire before the cones or fruits containing the seeds can release them. These cones or fruits need fire to melt a resin that holds the seeds inside. As a result, without fire these species cannot reproduce.
The brainiacs in the Biden administration banned prescribed burns almost three months ago. “The pause comes amid the crucial fall window for planned, controlled burns, which remove fuel and can protect homes from future wildfires — raising concerns that the move will increase long-term fire risks,” far-left NPR affiliate KQED reported.
The controlled burn ban’s contribution to the fires around Los Angeles is unclear. But the raging Eaton wildfire, minutes northeast of Pasadena in the Angeles National Forest, has burned 10,000 acres and left two people dead.
The prescribed fire map of the California Air Resources Board shows 27 prescribed burns, none of them where the wildfires started.
Five years ago, Trump warned California Governor Gavin Newsom to do his job.
“The Governor of California, @GavinNewsom, has done a terrible job of forest management,” Trump wrote:
I told him from the first day we met that he must “clean” his forest floors regardless of what his bosses, the environmentalists, DEMAND of him. Must also do burns and cut fire stoppers…..
Every year, as the fire’s rage & California burns, it is the same thing-and then he comes to the Federal Government for $$$ help. No more. Get your act together Governor. You don’t see close to the level of burn in other states…But our teams are working well together in … putting these massive, and many, fires out. Great firefighters! Also, open up the ridiculously closed water lanes coming down from the North. Don’t pour it out into the Pacific Ocean. Should be done immediately. California desperately needs water, and you can have it now!
As Trump wrote those words, 7,860 fires were burning 259,823 acres. Three people died, 22 were injured, and 732 buildings were damaged or destroyed.
As for the fires raging now, ravaged areas are still desperate for water. The fire hydrants in Pacific Palisades are empty.
Among those forced to flee was Trump-supporting actor James Woods, who noted that major insurance companies have refused to write homeowner’s policies in the fire-prone state.
The fires have destroyed 1,000 buildings and forced a mass evacuation.
DEI Chief
Not to be underestimated as a possible problem is the chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, one Kristin Crowley. She is a 50-something “LGBTQ community” hero for becoming the first woman, and apparently the first lesbian, to run the department.
When the city council hired Crowley, the sisterhood celebrated.
“I think it’s so fitting for this nomination to come to council today, on the first day of Women’s History Month,” said council headmistress Nury Martinez:
Our city’s fire department has gone 136 years without a woman in its highest office and today we’re going to finally be able to turn the page.
Given that Crowley’s only qualification to become chief was, apparently, her XX chromosomes, her priorities aren’t surprising.
Before being confirmed, Crowley vowed to “fully commit to fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture within the LAFD.” That’s far-left code for hiring as many women, minorities, homosexuals, and “transgenders” as possible, qualifications regardless.
Crowley had a “three-year strategic plan to increase diversity,” NBC4 Los Angeles reported.
“People ask me, well, what number are you looking for?” Crowley told the station. “I’m not looking for a number. It’s never enough.”
Only 115 of the city’s 3,330 firefighters are women, the station observed, and Crowley’s “already looking at ways to change that. She’s quick to point out that doing so has a greater purpose: attracting the best and brightest for the job.”
And so, under Crowley’s manly leadership, women will “feel included” and “valued” and “part of a cohesive team.”
“The chief checks another box when it comes to inclusivity and diversity,” the reporter gushed. “She’s a proud member of the LGBTQ community.”
And “that just kind of opens a door,” Crowley said, of
people who thought, “Wow, I didn’t even know that that was an opportunity for me.”
Angelenos hope that Crowley is better at her job than are Anne Kirkpatrick, the 65-year-old female police chief in New Orleans, scene of the recent ISIS-inspired terror attack, and former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who was forced to resign after the first assassination attempt on then-candidate Donald Trump. Cheatle’s top priority at the agency was feminizing it.
