“The fact that people were still not evacuated…”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom blamed trapped residents of the Pacific Palisades for failing to evacuate from the advancing fire on January 7 — apparently not realizing that they were stuck due to government incompetence.
The Los Angeles Times has produced a video documenting the chaotic response to the Palisades Fire, including the haphazard evacuation, which was the result of poor planning and communication by local emergency services.
At 14:14 in the video, corresponding to five hours and twelve minutes after the start of the fire, the narrator notes: “Governor Gavin Newsom is unhappy with what he’s seen on a tour inside the evacuation zone. He holds residents themselves responsible.”
Newsom is shown saying, with considerable irritation: “The fact that people were still not evacuated, still did not heed the warning, were just coming down the canyon, is a reminder of how serious this moment is, and how important it is you listen to these evacuation orders. We’ve all been to memorials. I’ve never been to a memorial for a building.”
The lack of police on the scene — partly because many officers were assigned to guard visiting President Joe Biden — meant that there was gridlock on the roads. Residents were forced to abandon their cars and run for their lives.
The fire department later had to use bulldozers to clear the cars so that fire engines, which were not pre-deployed due to budget cuts and decisions by local officials, could finally approach the fire.
Newsom also dismissed concerns about the lack of water for firefighters, telling CNN during the fire that locals would “figure that out.”
Here’s the video mentioned above:
A deep analysis of the Palisades fire evacuation paints a chaotic scenario: As the fire roared toward homes, major escape routes were gridlocked before the first evacuation orders were given. pic.twitter.com/YniyCnEZo8
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) February 2, 2025
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