Like Lahaina, LA Was Warned in 2018
Little investment made in fire prevention since the Woolsey Fire of 2018.
John Leake
Jan 08, 2025
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A letter from Pliny the Younger to the Emperor Trajan in the early 2nd century touched on this perennial issue:
While I was making a progress in a different part of the province, a most extensive fire broke out at Nicomedia [now Izmit, Turkey] which not only consumed several private houses, but also two public buildings; the town-house and the temple of Isis, though they stood on contrary sides of the street. The occasion of its spreading thus far was partly owing to the violence of the wind, and partly to the indolence of the people, who, manifestly, stood idle and motionless spectators of this terrible calamity. The truth is the city was not furnished with either engines, buckets, or any single instrument suitable for extinguishing fires; which I have now however given directions to have prepared.
Just as Lahaina was warned in 2018, Los Angeles was warned by the Woolsey Fire—which ignited on November 8, 2018, burned 96,949 acres, and destroyed 1,643 structures—of the sort of catastrophes that are likely to occur when conditions are dry and windy. As was the case in Lahaina, it appears that what passes for leadership in Los Angeles made little to no investment to prevent the same kind of disaster from happening again.
To preserve civilization from natural disasters, it is necessary to make considerable investment in infrastructure and human resources, even if such investments do not yield a significant profit for any particular business interest.
It is also necessary to invest in good leadership. The Roman Emperor Trajan was an extremely capable soldier and administrator, and Pliny the Younger was a gifted lawyer, writer, and magistrate.
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I remember one snowstorm in NYC when I was young that the entire Brough of Queens was snow bound for weeks. And, that swung the entire mayoral election as Queens’ residents almost entirely voted as a bloc against the incumbent.
I guess things haven’t changed since the early 2nd century. Gooferments suck at infraructure. And, its care and maintainence too.
Wonder how “We, The Sheeple” fix this attention failure?
Guess before we vote for a politician, we better look for a track record of attention to such details.
Or, we’ll be disappointed with results again.
Maybe there should be a “system” of promotion — you can’t be a county executive unless you have been a mayor. Or you can’t be a governor unless you’ve been a good mayor. Only governor should be Presidents. Only a Representative should be a Senator.
Might be worth trying!
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Posted by reinkefj 
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