The Los Angeles Fire Department could have pre-deployed ten fire trucks to Pacific Palisades ahead of the massive fires that devastated the historic neighbourhood, killing at least 12.
According to reports, the Department chose not to pre-deploy fire trucks because of budget cuts that made fire chiefs reluctant to pay overtime.
The decision was a costly one. Fire trucks took 18 minutes to respond to the first 911 call about the fire, at which point the wind was already fanning the flames dangerously, making containment impossible.
According to the LA Times, “Crews from those engines [pre-deployed in the Palisades] might have spotted the fire soon after it started, when it was still small enough to give them a chance to control it…
“Instead, according to publicly available information, the crews nearest to the fire were based at Stations 23 and 69, both on Sunset Boulevard, about three to four miles from the Piedra Morada address on a street map.”
Much of the damage caused by the fire could have been prevented.
Fire Department officials pre-deployed significantly fewer fire trucks citywide in January than they did in response to wind warnings in previous years like 2011, 2013 and 2019.
In the aftermath of the fires, which could be one of the most expensive natural disasters in American history, there has been intense focus on official failings, including massive budget cuts and mismanagement.
California Governor Gavin Newsom approved cuts of over $100 million to the state firefighting budget in 2024. LA Mayor Karen Bass was trying to close 16 fire stations the week before the fires broke out. It’s also been reported the city’s water chief Janisse Quiñones was well aware the Santa Ynez reservoir was empty and disconnected, denying the city millions of gallons of water, and that large numbers of hydrants in the city were broken.
Estimates now suggest that the fires could cost well upwards of $150 billion, or around 4% of the state’s entire GDP.