As the fires rage in the Los Angeles area, the casting of blame continues unabated. Die-hard environmentalists insist that climate change is the primary culprit. Those making such a claim overlook the vast array of other factors that have contributed to the ongoing disaster.
Water mismanagement was a key factor. Fire hydrants with no water or low water pressure clearly made matters much worse. In his January 12 morning message, Jake Hibbs highlighted this critical factor by pointing out that California had received record rainfall during the past two years but let most of it drain into the ocean rather than store it. The video of firemen carrying water from their truck to the fire with small vessels due to no fire hoses is a sight I won’t soon forget.
When I lived in the Los Angeles area in the mid to late 1970s, I noticed how the authorities controlled the vegetation and forests on the foothills that surrounded the area. I saw several large breaks in the landscape where they had stripped the land bare of all vegetation and trees so as to slow the momentum of fires once they started. During this time, a fire left a light dusting of ashes on the sidewalk outside my apartment, but the firefighters were able to contain the blaze mainly to the foothills because of such careful protection of the environment.
Fifty years later, the lack of preventative land management allowed the fires to grow with unstoppable force by the time they reached the populated areas.
It’s Not the Apocalypse
Some are using the language of the book of Revelation to describe the devastation left by the fires. I hear the word “apocalyptic” used to describe the widespread devastation. […]
— Read More: harbingersdaily.com
