Some of Los Angeles’s wealthy elite have moved to hire private firefighters in the ongoing effort to combat the devastating wildfires blazing through the hills of Southern California. As the strained resources and infrastructure have proven insufficient to fight the fires, which are largely uncontained, some with financial means have turned to the private sector for answers.
According to recent reports, some are paying the firefighters $2,000 an hour to help save their mansions from the wildfires. However, this has sparked debate online, with some criticizing the moves as “tone deaf” while resources are desperately needed elsewhere, not necessarily to save a mansion. In one such case, co-founder of real estate investment firm Gelt Venture Partners, Keith Wasserman, incited backlash after requesting the help of “private firefighters” to safeguard his property in the Pacific Palisades.
Wasserman posted on X last week, “Does anyone have access to private firefighters to protect our home in Pacific Palisades? Need to act fast here. All neighbors houses burning. Will pay any amount. Thank you.” One person responded to the post, stating, “Incredible nerve. His family is evacuated and he’s trying to hire private firefighters to risk their lives to save a home he most certainly has insured. Incredibly tone deaf.”
Others questioned the morality of diverting critical firefighting resources away from containing the fire elsewhere, as California is struggling to keep up with the fire. “So you’re suggesting that potentially lifesaving resources (even if ‘private’) should be diverted to save your house because you’re rich while tens of thousands of people try to evacuate?”
While many impacted by the fires appear to be deeply concerned about their property and possessions, famous actor Mel Gibson recently explained that he was not terribly upset when he lost his $14.5 million mansion in Malibu. During an interview with NewsNation, Gibson explained, “I’m doing good, you know, it’s just a thing.” Referencing the late legendary comedian George Carlin, the director continued, “But it is obviously kind of devastating emotionally. You know, you’ve lived there for a long time. And you had all your ‘stuff’… Do you remember George Carlin talking about your ‘stuff’?”
“I had all my ‘stuff’ there and it’s like I’ve been relieved from the burden of my stuff, because it’s all in cinders,” he added, before joking, “Well, at least I haven’t got any of those pesky plumbing problems anymore.” He further noted, “I have never seen a place so perfectly burnt. You could put it in an urn, you know?”
However, Gibson did acknowledge that the loss is difficult. “It’s emotional. I lived there for about 14, 15 years so it was home to me,” he said. “I had a lot of personal things there that, you know, I can’t get back … All kinds of stuff, everything from photographs to files… to just personal things that I had from over the years, clothes… pretty cool stuff, you know, but you know, hey, that can all be replaced. These are only things.”
At the end of the day, the actor maintained that his family’s safety was the only thing he truly cared about. “The good news is that those in my family and those that I love are all well and we’re all healthy and happy and out of harm’s way. That’s all I care about really,” he stated.
Watch Gavin Newsom appear to deflect blame for the wildfires below:
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