It’s been eight months since the California wildfires incinerated hundreds of homes and left charred scars stretching for miles in Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Altadena. The natives are getting restless, however. Angelenos want to know what officially caused these fires, which led to homelessness and despair and contributed to a corrosive and abiding distrust of local and state government competence.
What’s the holdup?
We’re getting closer to finding out the cause, ironically, not from the state’s congressional delegation and its two troubled senators, but rather because a Florida senator is demanding answers.
Senator Rick Scott, at the bidding of desperate Palisades fire victims, answered their pleas to get answers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The ATF took command of the investigation less than a week after the Palisades fire sparked at 10:30 a.m on Tuesday, January 7.
Scott met with Palisades fire victims, including Spencer Pratt, a cast member from the MTV show “The Hills,” who lost his home in the fire. Pratt has become a leading spokesman for fire victims. He arranged a meeting with Scott in the Palisades, where the senator promised to get a briefing from the ATF for fire victims.
Scott says he’s also introduced a bill seeking tax relief for victims required to pay taxes on houses that were incinerated.
Earlier this week, Mayor Karen Bass told the Los Angeles Times that Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli asked her to wait to release her after-action, woulda—coulda—shoulda report until after the feds announce the cause of the Palisades fire. Since Bass has done nothing but fight the Trump Administration, this cooperation is amusing and must serve her purposes to forestall, for as long as possible, the report that exposes her nitwittery.
What’s the old saying, “‘Tis better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt”?
Silence on important matters is totally on-brand for Bass.
Completely unacceptable. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass FREEZES when asked why she cut $20 million in funding to fire fighters, or why she was vacationing in Africa instead of managing the disaster.
This is the look of someone utterly unfit for the enormity of her position. Rick… pic.twitter.com/A7DTEnzK6t
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) January 9, 2025
Bass left town days before the fires to go to Ghana to represent President Joe Biden, even though she had promised she would never travel out of the country while mayor of Los Angeles.
The upshot was this, as I reported in the story “Now Comes the California Fire Sale: China-Based Company Is Buying Up Land Incinerated by Firestorms“: Bass left town with a red flag warning in place and didn’t bother to leave instructions for defending her12 million citizens from the predicted firestorm.
When the feared firestorm hit Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Altadena in Southern California last January, the Los Angeles mayor was MIA, the “public safety” guy in charge—the vice mayor—was on home confinement for making an anti-Israel bomb threat on city hall, fire fighters were not pre-deployed, there was no water in the reservoir, and fire hydrants went dry in the Palisades.
There are three leading possibilities for the actual cause of the biggest firestorm in California history, The Witchy Winds—aka Santa Ana winds— sparking up a fire that had been put out in Topanga Canyon a week before. A hiker or homeless encampment sparking the fire. Or—as the left is fond of blaming everything on—the old standby “climate change” magicked up the fire.
There was a LOT of nitwittery and dumbassery that went into the Caltastrophe of 2025. PJ Media keeps you updated on all the latest information about the California firestorms.
Please consider becoming a VIP member to keep up with all the exclusive VIP content, podcasts, and videos available only to our VIP members. And to show our gratitude for your support, PJ Media is offering a 60% discount on your VIP membership. Use this link and use the promo code FIGHT to get your 60% discount.
