California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state’s government is free and clear when it comes to the blame for wildfires that destroyed the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, but a lawsuit filed against the Golden State says victims of the blaze beg to differ. The suit, which has been filed against the State of California and several other government entities, alleges that failures and negligence concerning the handling of the fire make the government responsible for the financial losses victims suffered during the ordeal.
It all goes back to how the initial fire started and the actions taken by firefighters who responded to it. The fire was allegedly set by Jonathan Rinderknecht, who sparked up the blaze at Lachman in the hills located above the Palisades around midnight on New Year’s Eve. Firefighters responded to the fire and claimed that by the time the sun rose the following morning, everything was under control. As we now know, that was not the case.
Investigators found out later that the blaze wasn’t properly contained as originally thought. Embers kept smoldering underground and eventually reignited, leading to the widespread destruction and death that swept through the Palisades. M
any families lost loved ones and beloved pets, as well as their homes, due to the failure of firefighters to properly extinguish the fire. Given that the firefighters failed to get the flames under control due to negligence, the lawsuit alleges, they ought to take responsibility for the devastating incident and make sure victims are taken care of.
A huge piece of evidence that the U.S. Attorney behind the lawsuit claims is a “smoking gun” is a video taken by a hiker on January 2, a whole day after firefighters claimed to have put out the fire, that clearly shows the flames still smoldering and smoke filling the sky. Lawyers state in the suit that firefighters did not utilize thermal imaging along with other techniques to ensure the fire was properly contained.
Legal representatives for the victims are also claiming that the state parks department didn’t follow their own rules and protocols by failing to visit the site where the fire started or post a fire watch, ignoring the weather forecast that called for high winds, which investigators claim is responsible for sparking the embers a week later.
In some of the lawsuits filed by victims, accusations are being leveled at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power of not repairing important infrastructure, including power lines and reservoirs, because they thought the Palisades area was not prone to wildfires.
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Current data from UCLA estimates that roughly 5,000 homes were destroyed in the Palisades fire, though other sources claim the number is much higher, at 6,800 when combined with the destruction that resulted from the Eaton fires. Along with the homes and structures torched in the flames, a total of 28 people were killed, a loss of life that could have been prevented had the fire been properly contained. Newsom needs to take responsibility for the failures and negligence of his administration that allowed this tragedy to unfold.