I want to thank the Editorial board for their positive article about the bravery of the local firefighters. These hardworking people saved lives and properties. However, the editorial spoiled the positive glow with gratuitous and untrue swipes at Southern California. The editorial falsely blamed “steep budget cuts” and lack of water, unhelpful residents, some blamed for starting fires. A little research would show these statements to be unfair and untrue.
For example, the budget for the Los Angeles firefighters actually saw an increase of $58 million, not the decrease stated in the editorial. As to the lack of water, Los Angeles had a robust water supply, 122% of the normal level in its reservoirs. However, the unprecedented scale of the urban fires overwhelmed the water system in these communities. Water systems are not built, in any community in the US, to accommodate urban fires of this scale. Thirdly, the divisive statement that Angelenos aren’t helping one another is bizarre since it has been seen to be untrue over and over again.
A myriad of places of worship, restaurants, and businesses have turned their facilities into distribution sites for donated water, food, clothing, and other basic needs. Housing is a priority for tens of thousands of now homeless people and, while the larger problem is being addressed, others are finding places for their fellow residents to sleep and blankets to keep warm. Teachers, some of whom have lost their own homes are setting up “schools” to help children maintain some sense of normality. This is a community, albeit a huge one, reaching out to help amid an unimagined catastrophe.
Thank you again for recognizing the efforts of our emergency services and the many volunteers who came out to help this past summer but, please, before taking cruel swipes at people living through and managing the catastrophe of this huge firestorm, do a little research first so that you don’t become one who further perpetuates lies and divisiveness.
John Harman
