On one-year anniversary of LA fires, controversy and uncertainty reign

While Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass appears to be claiming credit for what she calls among the fastest recoveries in California history, there remains much controversy over the failure to prevent the deadly wildfire, the attempt to cover up and obfuscate responsibility, the very slow pace of rebuilding homes and issuing permits, and the redirection of at least $75 million that was promised to go straight to the victims. 

The Los Angeles Times has been on the story, citing on Tuesday that LA Fire Chief Jaime Moore admitted that the department’s after-action report on the Palisades fire was compromised and “watered down to shield top brass from scrutiny.”

That fire resulted in the deaths of 12 people, with thousands of homes being destroyed. 

“It is now clear that multiple drafts were edited to soften language and reduce explicit criticism of department leadership in that final report,” Moore said on Tuesday. “This editing occurred prior to my appointment as fire chief. And I can assure you that nothing of this sort will ever again happen while I am fire chief.”

Late last month, the author of the report, LAFD Battalion Chief Kenneth Cook, chose not to endorse it because of the many deletions that substantially changed his findings. He called the edited version “highly unprofessional and inconsistent with our established standards.”

Among the reports was information that a fire from January 1 of last year wasn’t completely extinguished, and firefighters were ordered to leave it as is, though massive winds were known to be coming. 

There were reports early on that the Santa Ynez Reservoir, which could hold 117 million gallons of water, had been closed for nearly a year while its cover was being repaired, and it was empty when the fires broke out. There was also the issue of fire hydrants drying up.

The House Judiciary Committee issued a report this week showing that $75 million of the $100 million raised by a group called FireAid went to 188 non-profit organizations, though at the televised benefit concert, it was announced that “all of the money raised will go directly to people who need it now.”

The report is titled FIREAID APPARENTLY MISUSED CHARITABLE DONATIONS BY FUNDING ILLEGAL ALIENS, PODCASTERS, AND NON-PROFITS’ ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.”

The report said that “based on internal documents reviewed by the Committee, instead of helping fire victims, donations made to FireAid helped to fund causes and projects completely unrelated to fire recovery, including voter participation for Native Americans, illegal aliens, podcast shows, and fungus planting. Finally, despite FireAid’s promise that ‘funds be used solely for direct community support for relief, recovery and rebuilding — not for overhead or salaries,’ donations went to pay salaries and bonuses for those working at non-profits and other organizations.” 

In all the fires in the L.A. area at that time, about 16,000 homes and businesses were destroyed, and 31 people lost their lives, according to CBS News Los Angeles, which reported on a rally in Pacific Palisades Wednesday called the “They let us burn” rally. 

With only about a dozen homes rebuilt, and roughly a third of the permits applied for approved, Mayor Karen Bass said that the recovery efforts after the Palisades fire were some of the fastest in California history despite months of criticism, according to Fox News.