Fire has served as source of warmth and protection for hundreds of thousands of years. It has also destroyed plant life, ecosystems, and dwellings for just as long. Fire cooks our food, warms our homes and clears land for development. California is reminded yearly of the danger that flames present and we live in a constant state of fire danger.
Low rainfall, a history of suppression, and increased population only raise the risk of a firestorm and our elected leaders are well aware. We’re told to live in the dark, be prepared, and deal with water rationing during the most extreme events. What we AREN’T told by our media is that homeless encampments start on average 7 fires a day in Los Angeles. Pair a dug out firepit in a secluded location with high winds and it’s no surprise that today I’m watching my state burn to a crisp. Los Angeles, and California in general have a problem with the truth. Last Friday, the Antelope Valley was homebound because of a fire that skipped across the 14 freeway, a main artery for half a million commuters.
We walk by people sleeping in the streets and are shocked when the palm trees are set ablaze by accident in the middle of the summer. Sure, some fires are maliciously set, but the vast majority of wildfires are the result of an ember that escaped it’s confines. The Skirball fire in 2017 was found to have started at one of the many encampments strewn across the city and destroyed 6 structures, yet 2 years later nothing has changed. The Getty Museum almost burned yesterday, today it was the Reagan Library, who knows what structure is next, but we do know that it’s going to continue to happen. Meanwhile, our city leaders give us lip service and the homeless are still trying to stay warm.
Mike Bonin, while apparently surveying a road to take away lanes from you to give to bicycles came across a man who starts a fire and shouts Satan! (In Spanish).. Bonin sees nothing wrong with that.. and keeps going.. well done Mike!
Posted by A Dying California on Thursday, October 17, 2019
