Southern California was chronically online during the beginning of this month, and it wasn’t to doomscroll on social media. It was to check for updates on fires that engulfed the state in flames and marred the air with smoke.
It’s hard to forget the images: entire neighborhoods reduced to ash, mountainsides blazing angrily and families fleeing for their lives.
The recent Los Angeles wildfires are another grim chapter in California’s ongoing battle with its worsening fire seasons. Yet, as the flames continue to rage, a more troubling story emerges—one of insufficient preparation, poor coordination and a government that seems perpetually caught off guard despite years of warning signs.
Despite year after year of devastating wildfires, the state government remains astoundingly unprepared to respond effectively.
California is no stranger to wildfires. The 2019 Saddle Ridge, 2020 August Complex, 2022 Dixie and 2024 Park fires are just a few notable examples of the state’s destructive blazes. This is not a sudden or unpredictable crisis.
Scientists and fire experts have sounded alarms for decades, urging preventive measures including improved forest management, better infrastructure of firefighting and community evacuation plans.
Despite these recommendations, California’s implementation has been hindered by delays and regulatory obstacles. The state announced its plan to expand the use of prescribed fire, or intentional burning to improve forest management, though this has seen limited progress. Prescribed fire activity nearly doubled between 2021 and 2023, but it continues to fall short of the necessary scale.
In 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom admitted the state had overstated its progress in treating high-risk areas for wildfire prevention by over 690%. This severe miscalculation calls the legitimacy of the government into question.
This sluggishness in adopting preventive measures has left communities vulnerable. This unpreparedness was made blindingly and tragically apparent during the recent Eaton Fire in Los Angeles, where evacuation orders were issued hours after the fire was detected.
The image of California’s government has been tainted even further thanks to LA mayor Karen Bass. Shortly before the fires broke out, Bass traveled to Africa to celebrate the inauguration of Ghana President John Mahama. Before taking office, she promised to not go abroad during her time as mayor to focus on improving the city. Bass returned to Los Angeles as soon as possible, though she refused to answer questions regarding the fires upon arrival. Broken promises and a lacking response make for a nightmarish combination.
Critics argue that climate change is the real culprit, and while they’re not wrong, the debate often deflects from the government’s immediate responsibilities. Hotter temperatures and prolonged droughts undoubtedly worsen wildfires, but this only underscores the urgency of proactive measures.
For all the rhetoric about California being a global leader in climate action, the state’s response to wildfires is beginning to err on the side of failure rather than leadership. Instead of treating climate change as an excuse for inaction, California’s leaders should focus on creating effective, sensible solutions that protect lives and property.
To make a grim story even worse, news of overwhelmed firefighting units and evacuation orders that never arrived paints an awful picture of a disjointed emergency system. Despite enormous budgets and federal aid, California is incapable of deploying resources where they’re needed most.
In fairness, the struggle of local governments to coordinate with state agencies and the federal mismanagement of land have contributed to the crisis. Even so, these excuses fall on deaf ears for a state as wealthy and politically influential as California.
This should not be a partisan issue. In matters of leadership, citizens are ultimately concerned about whether their leaders are doing everything they can to keep them safe. While California’s leaders are quick to blame climate change and promise a greener future, the immediate failures on wildfire response reveal a government that is reactive when it should be proactive.
California doesn’t need more fiery speeches about global warming. It needs their government to wake up and implement fire prevention projects and expand resources available to firefighters. Wildfires will never be entirely preventable, but their devastating toll doesn’t have to be inevitable.
It’s time for California to focus less on empty gestures and more on practical solutions before the next fire season rears its blazing head around the corner. California residents deserve better, and their leaders have no excuse to not rise to the occasion.
