NEW: Suspected Cause of Palisades Wildfire Uncovered,
Investigation Reveals Failures in Palisades Wildfires Response, Raising Questions About Prevention Efforts
A comprehensive investigation into the Palisades wildfires has uncovered significant shortcomings by firefighting authorities, suggesting that the devastating outbreak, which has claimed at least 24 lives and destroyed more than 12,000 homes, may have been preventable. The findings challenge assertions by California Democrats that the destruction was an inevitable result of climate change, pointing instead to potential lapses in fire prevention and containment efforts.
As the fires continue to rage through the affluent Los Angeles enclave, firefighters have managed to contain only 11% of the blaze as of the weekend. However, satellite imagery and firefighter communications suggest that the tragedy could have been averted with enhanced preventive measures by the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). According to the investigation, the fire likely originated in the same mountain ridge area affected by an illegal fireworks-induced blaze on New Year’s Eve.
Signs of Trouble Ignored
Dispatch records from January 7, the day the Palisades fire was first reported, indicate that smoke was detected in a location previously affected by the New Year’s Eve fire. “The foot of the fire started real close to where the last fire was on New Year’s Eve,” reads a message from one LAFD firefighter to another. A colleague replied, “It looks like it’s going to make a good run.”
Fire experts believe the Palisades blaze may have been a result of “reignition,” where smoldering embers from the earlier fire were reignited by strong winds in the days following the initial blaze. Residents have criticized the slower response from authorities this time compared to the swift action taken on New Year’s Eve.
