On the first night of the Palisades and Eaton fires, the Los Angeles news media began using the word “apocalyptic” to describe what they saw — fires sometimes as far as the eye could see, burning some of America’s most beautiful neighborhoods. Later, they would look at the areas left by those fires and see a moonscape of gray ash.
Over and over, we heard the words “apocalypse” and “apocalyptic.”
The Los Angeles area is prone to wildfires. That’s not new. But officials were not ready for so many simultaneous fires in hurricane-force winds, including two massive infernos. Evacuated homes and businesses are vulnerable to looters, but curfews didn’t go into effect until days after the fires began. And it is questionable how well police will be able to enforce curfews over such large areas. Consequently, widespread looting will probably continue.
You expect those things, but you don’t expect a large Canadian “Super Scooper” water-dropping aircraft to be hit by a drone and put out of action. You don’t expect firefighters to hook up to fire hydrants and find them dry — a major problem in the highly affluent area of Pacific Palisades.
In some emergencies, it’s possible to survive by sheltering in place. But if your house is in danger of burning, you must leave. So, Los Angeles officials ordered evacuations like the city had never known before. That led to a problem that was also predictable, but no one seemed ready for — gridlock. It’s a common traffic problem in car-centric LA. But the evacuation traffic jams caught the city by surprise. […]
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