NEW: I am calling for an independent investigation into the loss of water pressure to local fire hydrants and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir.
We need answers to ensure this does not happen again and we have every resource available to… pic.twitter.com/R0vq0wwZph
Covernot Hair Gel Runs for Cover
[Epoch Times] Reports of water systems that could not provide water to emergency crews during the initial response to the Palisades Fire in Southern California have prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to demand an official inquiry into why some fire hydrants failed to operate.
"I am calling for an independent investigation into the loss of water pressure to local fire hydrants and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir," the governor posted on Jan. 10 on social media platform X.
"We need answers to ensure this does not happen again and we have every resource available to fight these catastrophic fires."
In a letter addressed to Janisse Quiñones, CEO and chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and Mark Pestrella, director of LA County Public Works, the governor said mistakes were made that "likely impaired the effort to protect some homes and evacuation corridors."
"The ongoing reports of the loss of water pressure to some local fire hydrants during the fires and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir are deeply troubling to me and to the community," Newsom wrote. "We need answers to how that happened."
He is directing a group of state firefighting and water officials to research what happened and produce an independent report that determines the causes of the failure and suggests improvements for future responses.
[X] One cause:
For those wondering how long the Santa Ynez Reservoir has been empty the answer is June 2009. Go to Google Earth and locate Santa Ynez. There's a slider top left allowing you to scroll through historic satellite imagery which I marked with a yellow rectangle. pic.twitter.com/TjD29jqpNf
#7
Investigation of the local fire hydrants? There's time for that later. Newsome had best figure out how to put the fires out in LA ASAP! If he can't do this, he is just another worthless politician who should never been in office in the first place!
#8
Wildfire season will be followed by recall season.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/11/2025 12:24 Comments ||
Top||
#9
I can't make Wretchardthecat's Google Map 'slider' work, but on the current map, the map icon for 'Palisade Fire' is about 3,000' due west of the Santa Ynez reservoir.
Ironic, eh? Or maybe a "message"?
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/11/2025 12:28 Comments ||
Top||
#10
I like how Boobie is like, yeah trying to call the president right now just no cell coverage oh well.
Obviously he is lying, put he puts himself into a corner, like why is there no cell phone coverage, no temp towers? That would be another failure.
These people have no thoughts, no opinions, just prepared remarks made by somebody, and they get off script they are just horrible befuddled untalented improvs.
#11
Yesterday Skidmark posted a comment with a link to the Daily Mail with a video in which Joe Biden claimed that Los Angeles fire hydrants hadn't run dry because of a water shortage, but due to power being cut to water pumps because of the killer wildfires.
Maybe I was too quick to assume that Biden knew what he was talking about, which no one should ever do. If that really was the reason, the blame is on Newsom who appoints members of the state's Public Utilities Commission and they have consistently failed to ensure that all of the state's power companies bury their damn power lines.
Later that day I wondered why those pumps were not powered by diesel engines. I dunno, maybe the greenies don't want all that nasty, smelly diesel smoke polluting their air. Now their air is polluted by the out-of-control fires.
Whatever the reason for the failure, and in spite of the tragedy, it might be fun to watch the Democrats turn on each other. Popcorn all around!
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/11/2025 12:45 Comments ||
Top||
#12
Note the tears in #6 when Biden wouldn't take his calls. His career dissipation light isn't blinking. It's gone out.
[FoxNews] FEMA is also closing disaster recovery centers in North Carolina until Monday — 'due to winter weather'
Residents of Western North Carolina are confused about the Federal Emergency Management Agency's role in helping locals with disaster recovery after Hurricane Helene.
Locals are especially confused as FEMA plans to end temporary housing assistance for about 2,000 North Carolina residents on Saturday — during a snowstorm, when temperatures across the Appalachian Mountain region are expected to be below 20 degrees.
The housing program was initially supposed to end on Friday, but FEMA pushed the deadline back to Saturday.
"I'm actually talking to several people that are losing the FEMA vouchers," Ryan McClymonds, founder of volunteer group Operation Boots on the Ground in WNC and Eastern Tennessee, told Fox News Digital on Friday. "They're terrified that they're going to have nowhere to stay for their families after today. But we did find out last night pretty late … that FEMA is extending it a whole whopping 24 hours."
FEMA told Fox News Digital that its Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program is providing hotel rooms to thousands of Hurricane Helene survivors in WNC.
About 3,600 households will remain eligible to continue staying in hotel or motel rooms sponsored by FEMA past Saturday — up from the 2,100 eligible households reported by local news outlet WLOS on Thursday.
FEMA said it has provided shelter to 13,000 families displaced by Helene since late September 2024, when the storm made landfall. There are currently 5,600 households currently checked into hotels, the agency told Fox News Digital.
Nine more days until President Trump can get the government out of the way of allthe people trying to help.
#3
...one of the following reasons: an inspection indicated their home is now habitable, they declined an inspection or FEMA has been unable to contact them to update their housing needs.
After you put up signs saying 'Road Close'. Right.
[FoxNews - liveblog] Some people who have applied for assistance are being immediately denied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger said Friday.
The federal agency set up an online form, which people are filling out, but people were being denied, she said. Officials were looking into the matter, Barger at a news conference.
“I’m following up on that to find out what is going on because it is completely mind-boggling to me that people who lost everything are filling out a form, as told, and then are getting an immediate denial,” she said.
#4
There was no audit to see why there was no FEMA funds available for NC. We shovel more cash in to set up to help them. Biden redirects all the new funding to CA, but it does not look as if it is going to help people. Newsom has a huge budget shortfall and needs cash.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/11/2025 9:26 Comments ||
Top||
#5
#1 FEMA head expects California wildfire recovery will be ‘really complicated
Really complicated as in the money is all gone and don't ask where it went.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/11/2025 14:55 Comments ||
Top||
#6
FEMA needs to be shut down and its supplies donated. It was a lovely idea, but the execution demonstrates that this is not a function the federal government does well. Contrariwise, it is proved to be a function in which the feds end up actively harming those they were intended to help. Since the internet became widely available, the common folk have demonstrated the skills and drive to handle rescue and repair better, cheaper, and more quickly than government can at any level. There are things that governments do better — let them concentrate on those.
BREAKING: LA Mayor Karen Bass FIRES Fire Chief Kristin Crowley after she said city leadership "failed" the fire department
‘Kristin was summoned by Bass this afternoon, about 4pm. She came back from that meeting, hugged her staff goodbye and left. She said she was fired,’ the… pic.twitter.com/ZQpkuFueJi
REPORT: LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley was called into a meeting with LA Mayor Karen Bass expecting to be fired but ended up not being fired, according to new reports.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/11/2025 12:13 Comments ||
Top||
#15
Janet Reno never got fired.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/11/2025 12:22 Comments ||
Top||
#16
Mayor Bass doesn't want complaints or questions to distract from the important work of putting out a fire that shouldn't have happened in the first place.
#17
I think one of the biggest differences between liberals and conservatives is that liberals are either unable or unwilling to perceive danger.
Yesterday on KFI, John Kobylt revealed that Los Angeles last year spent $1.3 billion for the homeless but only $800 million for the fire department. That's what I mean. Their priorities are all wrong.
They don't see the danger in all that dry brush in the canyons and on the hill sides where wildfires start. They either don't see it or they don't think anything can be done about it. But there are plenty of things that could be done if their priority was public safety instead of all the woke items on their agendas.
Public safety should always be their number one priority. But how can they ensure public safety when they don't even recognize the threats that are staring them in the face?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/11/2025 13:31 Comments ||
Top||
#18
Glenn Beck transcript...the Mayor was in the Venceremos brigade for many years going to Cuber every 6 months.
#23
Bass has ambitions on the Governorship after Newsome, and the deal seemed struck, nut now the damage to her political standing by the catastrophic fires has been enormous. Salvaging any hopes now was only worsened by the optics of firing the DEI LGBTQ-XYZ Fire Chief who has plenty of ammunition left to reveal about criminal incompetence. Bingo, post meeting political assessment and poof-unfiring and huge efforts to seem in charge and leader-like.
But...15,000 homes gone and hundreds of billions in damage-even the best California political make-over visuals are selling!
This led to moments of panic among Rebecca and her fellow workmates, all of whom scrambled to research whether they were in imminent danger.
But a corrected alert then came through, telling them to disregard the terrifying warning.
Relief that the residents felt soon transcended into anger at the massive blunder, with Rebecca complaining that they were all trying to stay informed through their phones, TV and radio as "there wasn't a good system in place".
Posted by: Elmaper+McGurquCITY IN PANIC All 10m LA residents’ phones warn them ‘get ready to FLEE wildfires’ in terrifying blunder as anger at Dem leaders growse1612 ||
01/11/2025 15:07 Comments ||
Top||
#26
Shhhhh… calm yourself, dear Elmaper+McGurque. The false alarm was yesterday. Those responsible should be drummed out of their jobs for it, no doubt, but that’s a problem for Future LA — current LA has more urgent concerns.
#27
Re the Mayor and the Fire Chief, the chief's big job is to provide cover for the mayor. Bass knows that -nobody- is going to sign up for the job right now. And the assistant chiefs currently know better.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
01/11/2025 16:05 Comments ||
Top||
#28
some decent progress made in containment
Palisades fire about 12% contained
Eaton fire about 15% contained
Lydia, Hurst, Kenneth and Archer fires are at least 75% contained.
Unfortunately Santa Ana winds may be ramping up by late Sunday 12 Jan
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
01/11/2025 18:35 Comments ||
Top||
#29
*knocks on wood*
San Diego hasn't been hit but the week's prediction is for more Santa Ana's. We usually get hit hard in Oct/Nov. No rain in forecast
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/11/2025 18:42 Comments ||
Top||
#30
Los Angeles? Mannish hermanas,
Like, Communist, tony Montanas
Who, run in reverse,
Are a burden, a curse,
And a Red ruination! [hosannas]
[NY Post] You all knew he was a piece of shit before working for or with him. Don't act surprised now
Democrats are buzzing about powerful party-linked attorney Marc Elias springing a mandatory arbitration clause on employees of his law firm — with insiders speculating about whether the firm has something to hide and accusing Elias of hypocritically limiting worker rights.
New York native Elias, 55, made headlines with his work on Hillary Clinton’s procurement of a dossier full of salacious gossip about then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2016 — and his eponymous law firm, which he founded in 2021 and has dozens of employees, works primarily on behalf of Democrats and progressive causes.
The Elias Law Group’s new policy, which drew an internal protest letter from 42 subordinates, prevents employees from suing and includes a class-action waiver and non-disclosure agreement, according to the legal news website Above the Law, which first reported on the move.
"All, as a condition of employment...[Elias Law Group] is implementing an arbitration agreement that applies to all employees. The agreement implements an alternative to litigation for resolving employment-related disputes," chief operating officer Jacqui Newman wrote on Dec. 19.
"Arbitration offers a confidential and cost-effective way to address issues, ensuring that both employees and the Firm resolve matters fairly and efficiently. You will receive the agreement from HR with your 2025 compensation memo by the end of this week. All employees are required to review and sign the agreement by December 30, 2024," Newman wrote.
The ensuing protest letter, also published by Above the Law, decried the "sudden, unexplained reversal of policy" and objected to the changes being issued "with no notice and little explanation"
"Firm personnel have been given just over a week, during the winter holidays, to agree to this dramatic change in the terms of our employment," Elias’ employees fumed. "And we have been offered no opportunity to provide any input or voice any concerns. No explanation for the urgency has been offered, and we can think of none."
Days after the announcement, Elias mysteriously purged his once-vociferous X account — stoking further intrigue.
"I have stopped posting here. For pro-democracy news follow @DemocracyDocket and subscribe for free," Elias informed his more than 816,000 followers.
Sources told The Post that Democratic insiders are perplexed about the implementation of the arbitration clause, which left-wingers loathe for its perceived benefit to bad bosses.
"Everyone is wondering why there is such an urgency to it," said a Democrat who has worked with Elias in the past.
"It is especially bizarre to have sprung this on the staff in the week between Christmas and New Year’s."
A second person, a senior Democrat with knowledge of the situation, told The Post that "it just doesn’t make sense to be so hypocritical as a top Dem lawyer unless there’s some big reason he wants to avoid litigation by his staff."
The drama prompted the airing of pent-up criticism of Elias, whose firm describes itself on its website as "the nation’s largest law firm focused on representing the Democratic Party, Democratic campaigns, nonprofit organizations, and individuals committed to securing a progressive future."
"Elias Law Group is all about Marc’s ego and not about the people who work there," the Democrat who has worked with Elias said. "His lack of awareness and his lack of concern for entry and mid-level employees at his own firm is a scandal in itself.
"Everything Marc Elias does is about attracting notice to himself."
"He’s a very smart guy," the second source said, "but he has to be the smartest person in the room and is frankly an a—hole.
"If Marc won’t do the right thing here, it’s not only deeply hypocritical, he’s making a real headache for his clients, many of whom are leaders in the Democratic and progressive movements," this person said. "Marc owes everyone an explanation for this suspect decision and timing."
The Elias Law Group did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/11/2025 09:04 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11149 views]
Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
#1
Red on Red. There can’t be any good people working for Elias.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/11/2025 9:29 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I hope this a-hole is on the list of people to investigate by the new FBI, DOJ and other agencies. Steele Dossier and election jiggering for a couple of things.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/11/2025 12:26 Comments ||
Top||
#5
New York native Elias, 55, made headlines with his work on Hillary Clinton’s procurement of a dossier full of salacious gossip about then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2016
Salacious gossip, my ass. It was a pack of lies.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/11/2025 14:59 Comments ||
Top||
#6
"I have altered the agreement. Pray that I do not alter it further."- A famous management specialist
Posted by: ed in texas ||
01/11/2025 15:58 Comments ||
Top||
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
"I am calling for an independent investigation into the loss of water pressure to local fire hydrants and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir," the governor posted on Jan. 10 on social media platform X.
