The following report was filed by a resident of Los Angeles.
The fires have been raging for six days. The Santa Ana winds have abated, and with the assistance of a large contingent of Mexican firefighters, the multiple fire-fighting agencies of California, and from many other states, the fires are increasingly under control. More high winds are expected tomorrow, but with a much-diminished force.
The nearly 100-mph winds delayed for almost a day the much-reinforced “Super-Scooper” helicopter fleet from preventing the rapid spread of the fires in the early hours, which some described as like a blowtorch against the firefighters and their ability to perform. But, had the 60-year-old North American Water and Power Alliance (NAWAPA) been built by any of the past several federal governments, this desert phenomenon and its effects could have been mitigated by the application of frontier scientific discoveries generated from places like the threatened Jet Propulsion Laboratory here in Pasadena.
As Lyndon H. LaRouche repeatedly insisted, “It’s the system!” Indeed, California has implemented budget cuts from one fire department to enhance another. Also, there has been a lack of investment to replace the 100-year-old water distribution infrastructure, because it is not as lucrative as investing in “the markets.” The irony is that there is water in storage in the state. After several large, atmospheric rivers in 2023-2024 dumped massive amounts of water on California, most of our reservoirs are almost full (except the Santa Ynez impoundment in Pacific Palisades, which had been emptied for repairs). Plus there is the bitter irony of California being located on the Pacific Ocean. So the lack of investment to replace and build infrastructure has brought us a monumental disaster. And then there are the “Mother Nature” worshippers and their Devil’s Pact with the “fiscal conservatives” who think that infrastructure is government “pork” and should be privatized.
But reality has been imposing itself on these false axioms, as reflected in none other than Gov. Gavin Newsom, who, after the five-year 2012-2016 period almost bankrupted the state, assumed office with big Green mafia support, but has been in a pitched battle with the latter over recent years.
In an about-face, Newsome has extended the life of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant (the only remaining one in the state), built the first desalination plant in Carlsbad with more to come, and increased the amount of water sent to the southern part of the state. His erstwhile green allies have called him a fascist and sellout for these and other “environmental crimes.” (It should also be noted that Big Tech/Silicon Valley needs a lot of power for those data centers!)
Yesterday on Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” he called for a Marshall Plan for infrastructure development, signed two Executive Orders to suspend the powerful California Coastal Commission, and the California Environmental Quality Agency, and renewed his invitation to President-elect Trump to visit the state now. Also, in his budget address to the new Legislature on Jan. 10, as the wildfires raged, Newsom warned of “continued global instability, and the prospect of another downturn in the financial markets” in the new fiscal year.
Hundreds of thousands of people remain without homes, electricity, potable water, etc. in a region with already massive homelessness. Most of the insurance companies had fled after last year’s (smaller) fires, but have now been told by the State Insurance Commissioner that if they want to sell even car insurance in this vast market, they must return, and their rates will be regulated against price-gouging.
California has had a very friendly, cooperative and constructive relationship with China in spite of the bellicosity coming from the Biden Administration. We must work to shape this to transform the relationship of the U.S.A. with China and the BRICS.
