Currently, six fires are still burning in California, and at least eleven people are dead. Over 10,000 homes and businesses are destroyed. The water hasn’t been flowing. What is the California legislature working on? They met to discuss how they could fund their stop Donald Trump agenda. They could have done without a special session.
A reporter tried to get the legislative spokesperson to respond to an important question as he read from prepared notes and said he had to jump on a call.
The Question
“With that, and then with what you just mentioned and kicked off, here, is now the right time to have a special legislative session on allocating money to fight Trump in a way that you could already do without a special legislative session?”
The reporter tried a second time:
“While this wildfire is happening, and while people are trying to understand what’s going on and are worried about disaster relief, worried about the ability to get homeowners insurance, your chamber gaveled into a special legislative session to prepare for Donald Trump in a way that you are already able to do without a special legislative session.”
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He can’t answer because he’d have to admit it is their priority.
BREAKING: Up to 6 FIRES BURNING NOW.
11 DEAD.
$135-$150 BILLION in damage.
10,000 homes and businesses destroyed.
NO WATER!
Pacific Palisades reservoir empty and off-line.
Defunded and understaffed fire department.
AND THE CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE IS BUSY WORRYING ABOUT… pic.twitter.com/tbxwnmlcru
— Ann Vandersteel™️ (@annvandersteel) January 11, 2025
THE EMPTY PALISADES WATER RESERVOIR
A number one issue is that the Palisades water reservoir was reportedly empty and out of commission during the fires. The hydrants didn’t have water. A commission will study why the reservoir was out of commission.
Most importantly, water is sent into the ocean, diverted away from its natural landfall, and it has long been a problem.
Then-HP CEO Carly Fiorina warned in 2015 that overzealous liberal (leftist) environmentalists decide who gets the water. California had droughts for centuries, but the problem worsened yearly thanks to government policies.
In 2015, she said they diverted more than 300 billion gallons of water away from farmers in Central Valley to San Francisco Bay, which washes into the sea.
The water still washes out to sea because it’s good for smelt that other fish feed on. Maybe there is a happier medium?
California has an onerous regulation system that is destroying the state, and its priorities are bizarre. Is keeping illegal aliens, including criminals, in the state a priority? Who cares about who LGBTs sleep with? Take care of the people. Use common sense.
THE SPENDING AND THE CUTS
Overall, Gov. Newsom has nearly doubled the funds for firefighting to $3 billion. He claims to have the world’s largest aerial firefighting fleet. The state has increased forest management and planned burns. However, that number covers the overall increase in spending and personnel from 2019 through 2024.
The department’s personnel went from 5,829 to 10,741 over the same period.
Newsom recently cut $101 million from seven “wildfire and forest resilience” programs months before these devastating fires.
Cuts included a reduction of $5 million in spending on CAL FIRE fuel reduction teams, including funds used to pay for vegetation management work by the California National Guard. This left the total available for this at $129 million.
We don’t know yet how this affected the overall ability to fight the fires. It’s not all about the money; it’s how the money is used.
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