After The Fires

My hometown of Los Angeles is experiencing wildfires that have torched a surface area greater than Boston or San Francisco. Students at UCLA, my alma mater, were warned to prepare for an evacuation order that, thankfully, didn’t come. Friends lost homes, others don’t know if their houses are still standing, or they’re contemplating moving back to what feels like a blast zone. At least 12,000 structures have been destroyed. The death toll stands at 25 — given the scale of the disaster, that is remarkably low and a testament to the good work of front-line responders and the broader community. The LA fires will likely go down as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. The question now: What happens after the fire? 

Zero to Blame

The first rule of fires is simple: Everyone works together to put out the fire, as fire is apolitical, unemotional, and does not discriminate. But just as electric cars go from zero to 60 faster than cars with combustion engines, digitized information accelerates from zero to blame much faster than analog media. 

Immediately, the left claimed it was climate change and blamed Republicans. Maybe, or perhaps you’re tempting fate when you build hundreds of thousands of tinder boxes in a desert where high and low pressure systems collide to create tidal waves of hot air (i.e., the Santa Ana winds).  

First Lady-elect Elon Musk blamed DEI. The shit-poster-in-chief, Donald Trump, blamed California Governor Gavin Newsom, for failing to sign the “water restoration declaration,” providing much needed water to emergency services. The problem? A: That declaration does not exist. In local news, the billionaire real estate developer who lost in LA’s most recent mayoral election blamed the city for fire hydrant failures in Pacific Palisades; the system was pushed beyond its limits, as water demand was 4x normal demand for 15-plus hours. (Note: The people screaming the loudest about wasteful government spending are always the first to demand government help in a crisis.) 

LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley took time out from fighting the fires to blame Mayor Karen Bass for cutting $17.6 million from the department’s budget. The department’s $895 million budget actually increased by $58 million as a result of the latest union contract. To get that higher pay to firefighters, the department reduced spending on equipment and training. The mayor’s response added to the drama, fueling rumors that the chief had been fired. Right-wing podcasters blame Fire Chief Crowley’s gayness, saying she was a DEI hire. Note: She has outstanding qualifications. We’ve become stupid, hurting others while hurting ourselves, with algorithms and politics that reward divisive rhetoric. Both sides engage in this, but the right is louder and bolder (i.e., more full of shit) than the left. It’s far more likely that climate change played a role in the fires than China, Ukraine, or DEI.

Information Wasteland

Contrary to viral claims on social media, the Hollywood sign didn’t burn down. One clue that the AI-generated images were fake: an extra letter, making it “Hollywoodd.” Adjudicated liar Alex Jones falsely claimed that firefighters were battling the blazes using ladies’ handbags as buckets because officials had donated their equipment to Ukraine. His post on Twitter/X has 29 million views. As an LAFD public information officer told the Wall Street Journal, “It takes people and time to track down or debunk social media rumors — it takes us away from doing more important things.” 

By coincidence, the fires began the same day Mark Zuckerberg, the Immortan Joe of the information wasteland, announced that Meta would end fact-checking and replace the program with community notes. Zuckerberg cited free speech. His decision was about bending the knee and shareholder value. Zuck also made a stupid comment about companies needing more masculine energy. He believes masculinity is increasing your personal wealth by sacrificing the safety of the most vulnerable. No, masculinity is about protecting the vulnerable. See: aerial firefighters demonstrating expertise at enormous personal risk to save lives and protect homes. 

Live, Local, Late-Breaking?

Twice, LA County officials mistakenly sent evacuation alerts to 10 million people. These were potentially dangerous errors. Old-school local broadcasters corrected these mistakes in real time, heading off a catastrophic panic. Meanwhile, Watch Duty, a nonprofit app that tracks emergencies and sends real-time alerts, has had 2 million downloads since the fires began; it’s currently available in 22 states, operating with a team of 200 volunteers and 15 full-time employees. 

Unfortunately, local news is in short supply across the U.S. Over the past decade, there have been $23 billion worth of broadcast TV ownership deals, further concentrating an industry in which the three largest owners already control 40% of all local news stations and are present in over 80% of media markets. Zooming out to include print, radio, and digital, more than half the counties in the U.S. have little or no access to local news. Most of these “news deserts” are located in high-poverty areas and serve historically marginalized communities. People say digital media gives everyone a voice. Maybe. But digital media has definitely drowned out actual journalists. 

Rebuilding Homes

The question isn’t whether to rebuild, but where. Pacific Palisades is a wonderful place to live, but those amazing views of beautiful topography of foothills, mountains, canyons, and ridgelines are located in fire zones. Early estimates put the total cost of the wildfires at $250 to $275 billion. The property insurance bill is expected to easily top $20 billion. California’s insurance market was already in crisis, as leading insurers had done the math and decided to leave the state or not renew policies in fire-prone areas. California’s state-backed FAIR Plan is the insurer of last resort in these areas. Statewide, the number of FAIR Plan policies in 2024 increased 40% from 2023, and 85% in Pacific Palisades. Continuing to underwrite wood-built craftsman homes in Altadena (median home value: $1.3 million) and mansions along PCH is a wealth transfer from California’s taxpayers to some of its wealthiest people. 

This isn’t unique to California; 10 states across the political spectrum, including Florida and Texas, sued a federal flood insurance program after it adjusted premiums to better reflect climate realities. As one meme put it: You may not believe in climate change, but your insurance company does.   

A Crisis Is a Terrible Thing to Waste (for Rich People) 

Governor Newsom has proposed a $2.5 billion Marshall Plan to kick-start rebuilding. That, emotionally, feels right. However, I’d argue it is (yet again) a transfer of wealth from the middle class to the rich under the auspices of a tragedy. Covid caused the greatest intergenerational theft this century. Flushing the markets with $7t in stimulus, 85% of which wasn’t needed, but sent asset prices soaring. This was great for the incumbents (home and equity owners) and awful for entrants — the young, who will have to pay for our largess via deficits. 

The median value of a home in the Palisades is $3.3m, or 8x the national median. I’m not arguing against disaster relief, but against the continued gestalt in our society where we always find a narrative and empathy to bail out the rich while throwing some loaves of bread and a circus at the poor. I live on the water in Florida, where insurance rates have skyrocketed … as they should. Homes vulnerable to the floods and wildfires caused by climate change tend to be in beautiful areas, on the water or in hilly, dry climates. I don’t believe anybody has a birthright to live there and the risks/costs of doing so shouldn’t be transferred to people who can’t live on the beach. Also, will we ever get serious about climate change if we normalize (i.e., bail out) the powerful, who are the agents of change in a capitalist America?    

Make Los Angeles Great (i.e., Los Angeles) Again

Los Angeles will be rebuilt, as it’s wonderful and worth it … regardless of who ultimately bears the cost. After the 1991 Oakland fire, 8 out of 10 residents rebuilt. After disasters, most people decide to stay. The project, however, will put Trump’s biggest policies under the microscope. Trump has vowed to deport millions of people. I’ve written that we won’t do that, as immigrant labor is too profitable. In LA, 28% of the construction workforce is undocumented. Trump’s tariff plan — 60% on goods from China, 20% on everything else the U.S. imports — is an elegant way to turn a no-brainer building boom into an own-goal that’ll make us nostalgic for Covid supply chain disruptions and post-pandemic inflation. My prediction: Trump will turn against his plans, blame someone else for his fatuous ideas, and declare victory while standing next to James Woods at a groundbreaking ceremony in LA.  

GoFundMe (GoFuckYourself)

I donated to several charities and GoFundMe campaigns in the aftermath of the fires. To its credit, GoFundMe has raised millions for people affected by the catastrophe. Since its founding, the for-profit firm, last valued at $600 million in 2015, has processed $30 billion in crowdfunding. That’s a lot of cabbage … for GoFundMe. I paid a 14% fee to donate. An LA County Supervisor complained about the same 14% charge. The company’s VP for communications reached out to me to clarify that its standard transaction fee is 2.9% + $0.30 and insisted that tipping is optional. However, the tip “option” is the default, and I have about as much choice as the service charge on a bill at a Miami restaurant. GoFundMe needs to be more transparent that tips are optional and opt-in — that’s how tipping works. And if the organization really wants a tip, here it is: Don’t treat your customers like assholes and claim an opaque charge is “optional.”

Neighbors

Neighbors are helping neighbors. Mexico didn’t send their best people, they sent some of their bravest, i.e. firefighters. Canada and seven Western states, including Texas, also sent aid. Across Los Angeles and beyond, businesses and regular people didn’t ask if help was needed, they just showed up. My personal favorite: the street vendors who turned the Rose Bowl and Santa Anita Park race track into donation centers. Honorable mention: the 900-plus incarcerated volunteer firefighters working on the front lines for $10 a day. As one of them explained, for the first time in his life he has a job, and the community values his contributions. We should give the same opportunity to every young American by investing in a national service program, as it would benefit every community in the country. 

Love and Fire

I’ve been thinking a lot about love the past decade, as I’m not that good at it — I’ve had few people in my life who I loved and loved me. My definition of “love” used to be caring about someone’s well-being more than my own. This misses the mark, however, as it would mean I only love my immediate family, which I don’t think is true. A better definition: Love is giving witness to someone’s life. To notice them and their lived experience. My friend Rabbi Steve Leder said something that hit hard this week. Calling people and asking if you can help (what I was doing) is the wrong thing to do. The right thing? Just help. Pick up their dogs, drop off food, send a photo of the room in your house they can stay in, wire them cash. Don’t ask, do. Are there people in LA you love? Then give witness to their life, notice what would help. Don’t ask, just give witness, notice, and love them.

Life is so rich,

 

P.S. This week on the Prof G Pod, I spoke with Mel Robbins, an award-winning podcast host, New York Times bestselling author, and renowned expert on mindset. We talked about her “Let Them Theory,” a simple yet powerful concept that can improve your life and strengthen your relationships. Listen here. 

P.P.S. Is AI-driven personalization progress, or an invasion of privacy? Section’s newest event digs into this with former Walmart personalization tech VP Jan Pederson. RSVP for free.

 

The post After The Fires appeared first on No Mercy / No Malice.