Monday, January 13, 2025

The Real Failure Was the Government

But don't take my word for it: 

After making some progress battling wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people in the Los Angeles area, firefighters are preparing for a return of dangerous winds that could again stoke the flames Monday.

At least 24 people have died in the fires, but more victims continue to be found.

Other fire departments have sent equipment and firefighters to help battle the devastating blazes. Hundreds of National Guard troops are also helping.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said his department has not turned down any offers for help since the fires began.

Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said she’s grateful for all the first responders who are helping.

“We absolutely know that we cannot do this on our own,” she said.

 

This Kristin Crowley: 

Crowley publicly criticized the city Friday for budget cuts that she said have made it harder for firefighters to do their jobs at a time when they are seeing more calls. She also cast blame on the city for water running out Tuesday when about 20% of the hydrants tapped to fight the Palisades fire went dry.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has disputed that claim.

“I'm not a politician, I’m a public servant. It’s my job as the fire chief for [LAFD] to make sure our firefighters have exactly what they need to do their jobs,” she told CNN.

 

Like having water at the ready?

From the province of Ontario:

An annual inspection shall be made of tanks for fire protection, tank supporting structures and water supply systems, including piping, control valves, check valves, heating systems, mercury gauges and expansion joints, to ensure that they are in operating condition.

 I see.

Now to Los Angeles:

As wildfires raged across Los Angeles on Tuesday, crews battling the Palisades blaze faced an additional burden: Scores of fire hydrants in Pacific Palisades had little to no water flowing out.

“The hydrants are down,” said one firefighter in internal radio communications.

“Water supply just dropped,” said another.

By 3 a.m. Wednesday, all water storage tanks in the Palisades area “went dry,” diminishing the flow of water from hydrants in higher elevations, said Janisse Quiñones, chief executive and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the city’s utility.

“We had a tremendous demand on our system in the Palisades. We pushed the system to the extreme,” Quiñones said Wednesday morning. “Four times the normal demand was seen for 15 hours straight, which lowered our water pressure.”

 

Interesting:

 

So, the fire chief, whose annual salary is $439,722, whose job it is to annually check water tanks, to inform necessary parties of water levels and any other equipment to fight fires, just didn't do that?

It's called passing the buck, dear, which you did:

So my stance on this is when a firefighter comes up to a hydrant, we expect there’s going to be water. We don’t control the water supply. Our firefighters are there to protect lives and property and to make sure that we’re properly trained and equipped. That’s my position on this. So if there’s no water, I don’t know how the water gets to the hydrants. Please defer that to DWP or whomever controls that part. But I can tell you the resiliency of our firefighters. If there’s no water, they’re going to go find water. They’re going to figure out a way to do the best they can with what they’ve got in a very dynamic situation.

 

Just Macgyver it! That's the way!

Way to abdicate responsibility.

 

All that money just to do nothing:

 

 Oh, the foulness doesn't end there:

**


 

If it makes you feel better, the government is screwing Canadians over, too:

When a catastrophic fire ravaged the mountain town last July, people from near and far rallied in support of this much beloved place. Firefighters from Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Africa deployed alongside local emergency response crews. The feds in Ottawa, the Alberta government and the town of Jasper collaborated with Parks Canada to safely evacuate 25,000 people. Nearly six months later, the charred remains of one-third of the town have been cleared, residents are trickling back, and commercial property owners, including Marc, are desperate to rebuild.

But they see Alberta’s bete noire Steven Guilbeault, who as environment minister is the man with the most power to secure Jasper’s future, as a roadblock.
“I can’t believe Guilbeault hasn’t been out here to see what’s going on,” says Marc.
Located half a kilometre south of the Jasper townsite, Tekarra Lodge’s cabins and main lodge got clobbered by the wildfire; only the lodge’s staff and manager’s housing survived. And recovery is not going well, Marc reports in our recent conversation. “I’m very worried about the fact that it’s not going well. Because it’s not just a matter of a couple of things going sideways. I think there are real structural problems, and I don’t see a lot of real will right now to resolve those structural problems. And we have to, or we’re going to lose Jasper,” he despairs. “It’s that simple.” ...

The biggest problem, Marc explains, is Parks Canada takes direction from the federal environment ministry and they’re getting no direction from the top. So the bureaucrats are following the rule book, not prioritizing action.
Edmonton Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault, previously in charge of a cabinet-level working group on Jasper, has been stripped of all responsibilities after getting caught up in scandal. And the mandate of federal Minister of Emergency Preparedness Harjit Sajjan is limited during Jasper’s recovery phase.
Liberal super-environmentalist Guilbeault is no friend of Alberta’s UCP government — that’s no secret — but it does seem harsh for his ministry to not prioritize Jasper’s recovery; in my mind, that’s a no-brainer.
“I don’t think that a hotel owner in Banff or Jasper is at the top of Guilbeault’s friends’ list,” Marc shrugs. Meantime, our departing prime minister, Justin Trudeau, is (to paraphrase his exit speech) lecturing fellow politicians on the need to calm down and start working for Canadians, as Parliament has been seized with infighting resulting in a lack of productivity.
 
 

According to Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore, supported by multiple data sets, the overall trend in Earth's temperature is actually decreasing — debunking a claim by CTV, posted to social media by federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault — that 2024 was the "hottest year ever."

"Here is the record of global temperatures going back 5 million years, as the Earth sank into the Pleistocene Ice Age which began 2.6 million years ago," said Moore in a statement.

"Note that it is still getting colder over the long term."

The Associated Press story published by CTV said, "The last 10 years are the 10 hottest on record and are likely the hottest in 125,000 years."

That may or may not be correct.

In fact, Earth's average temperature was significantly warmer before human industrialization.

Guilbeault, who worked for Greenpeace Canada for over a decade in various roles, said in a social media post, "The stakes are higher than ever. This news comes at a pivotal time and we cannot let the environment come second on any political agenda."

"Our plan is working," he said. "Canada's emissions have fallen to their lowest level since 1997 and we can’t let up now!"

Guilbeault and other politicians around the world have used climate change as justification for advancing polices involving deindustrialization and carbon taxation.

A pivot away from fossil fuels has created energy scarcity and insecurity — particularly in the U.K. and Germany.

In Canada, Guilbeault threatened to impost a de facto production cap on Alberta oil and gas to help save the planet from climate change.

"There is no definitive scientific proof, through real-world observation, that carbon dioxide is responsible for any of the slight warming of the global climate that has occurred during the last 300 years, since the peak of the Little Ice Age," said Moore, who holds a PhD in Forestry from the University of British Columbia.

Climate trends throughout a significant portion of geological history suggest Guilbeault and others are wrong about so-called climate change and the "hottest year ever" — even though very recent numbers indicate slight warming.

 
 
 
 

A California family's unshaken faith emerged in the form of a lone statue of The Virgin Mary — untouched by the relentless flames of southern California's wildfires — her resilience amid the smoldering ruins leading them to sing in praise.

"It was remarkable how everything had gotten fried, but the statue of The Virgin Mary and another statue of Saint Joseph were in perfect condition," Peter Halpin, the family patriarch, told 'Fox & Friends Weekend' on Sunday. 

"Obviously, they were a little singed, but we just took that opportunity to pray," he continued. "Our home is dedicated to the sacred heart of Jesus and always has been and all my family members, my extended family, so we said a prayer to the sacred heart of Jesus, and then we sang that special song that our entire family has known for decades to The Blessed Virgin, and it was a remarkable thing."

 
 
 
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