Post-apocalyptic. The term brings up the usual dystopic images. Roving bands of raiders. Mad Max waste lands. Deep nuclear winter. Crazed mall zombies. All popular motifs, particularly in the film industry. And now, without irony, Hollywood is starring in its own post-apocalyptic blockbuster: the LA Wildfire Inferno. Like a typical Hollywood disaster movie, from Anthony Hopkins to Billy Crystal, big stars appear as cameos, with a cast of extras we will never know.
Lytton and Banff gave us a preview to what the combination of powerful winds and dry conditions can do. In LA County, three large fires continue to burn: over 23,000 acres in the Palisades; more than 14,000 acres in Altadena, Pasadena and Glendale; and almost 800 acres in the Hurst area. Thousands of structures have been destroyed, many iconic, like the Bunny Museum in Altadena that held over 46,000 rabbit-related objects; the Topanga Ranch Motel built by William Randolph Hearst in 1929; the Will Rogers State Historic Park in the Santa Monica Mountains, and countless homes and businesses of the rich and not so famous. According to JPMorgan, the insured losses alone, could be at least $20 billion, and economic losses could reach a staggering $50 billion, the costliest blaze in US history.
Thousands of firefighters are battling the wildfires. Despite being threatened with a nasty tariff and childish taunts, firefighters from Mexico and Canada have been deployed. We won’t hear any thanks, though, Donald Trump is more interested in our ever-flowing “faucet.” Last fall, speaking about California’s drought issues, while pointing his finger at California Governor Gavin Newsom, Trump said: “So you have millions of gallons of water pouring down from the north, with the snow caps and Canada and all pouring down and they have an, essentially, a very large faucet. You turn the faucet on – and it takes one day to turn – it’s massive, it’s as big as the wall of that building right there.” Translation: We have a HUGE faucet and Trump wants to drain it.
And then, oddly, we have the Ukraine offering to send 150 rescuers to help fight the fires. That’s like Haiti sending 105 troops for humanitarian assistance. Is this the direction of US political diplomacy? Kissing ass?
Back in LA, like the gang of misfits in the Mad Max movie franchise, survivors must navigate a world in ruins, deal with scarce resources, lawlessness, and the constant threat of danger. A reviewer presciently wrote in 2015, Mad Max: Fury Road “is not just about the tyrannical rule of scarce resources, it’s about our own naive misconceptions of taking nature for granted, and our subsequent demoralization in realizing what once gave us comfort no longer exists.” This is the hamster wheel of our existence and each year we only have more to lose.
The ugly. While members of the National Guard are helping to enforce a 6:00 pm to 6:00 am curfew, looters dressed as firefighters continue to pillage the residential areas. Firefighters complained about dropping water pressure (or no water) in many hydrants. From day one, the governor has received severe backlash over his handling of the wildfires. On day three, Trump posted: “The fires are still raging in LA. The incompetent pols have no idea how to put them out.”
The bad. Some “survivors” can hire $2,000-an-hour private firefighters to save their million-dollar homes and businesses. Keith Wasserman, a real estate investment partner, provoked fury after posting: “Does anyone have access to private firefighters to protect our home in Pacific Palisades? Need to act fast here. All neighbors [sic] houses burning. Will pay any amount. Thank you.” Social media users were quick to react, criticizing Wasserman, and calling his post “incredibly tone deaf.”
Billionaire developer and former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso also received rage online after it was reported that he had hired private fire crews to protect his mansion and luxury mall in the Palisades Village. With irony, Rick served two terms as president of the Department of Water and Power.
A wealthy resident was quoted: “This week’s events have shown you can’t trust the city to protect your property.” Some argued that if the city cannot be trusted, then celebs have every right to hire private contractors. The source added with no irony: “I have the money, so why not?”
The sad. Private firefighters are nothing new. Kim Kardashian admitted that her home in Hidden Hills was saved by her private crew in the 2013 wildfires. In LA, water-conserving measures have been in place since 2022, restricting residents to watering their gardens just twice a week, eight minutes at a time. Kardashian was fined for going over her water allowance in 2022, using 232,000 gallons of water more than her allocation. A neighbour of Ms K said: “Everyone was told to cut back on water precisely for this situation, to preserve it to fight fires. She carried on watering because she could afford the fines.”
The mad. Meghan and Harry of Montecito, with faces hidden by masks, distributed food to the displaced, many of whom had no idea who they were. Meanwhile on social media, actor/filmmaker Justine Bateman posted: “Meghan Markle and Harry are no better than ambulance chasers. What a repulsive “photo op” they achieved. They are ‘touring the damage?’ Are they politicians now? They don’t live here; they are tourists. Disaster Tourists.” The post was viewed 1.8 million times.
The moral? Humans are a sorry lot.