The word “bombshell” is often strewn about rather recklessly these days, but a Friday report in the Los Angeles Times certainly fits that bill. It presents readers with a tableau of administrative incompetence, short-sightedness, and a level of NIMBY-ism that more resembles a suicide pact — all of which contributed to the scale of the conflagration that consumed so much of Los Angeles earlier this month.
Reporter Connor Sheets’s review of “thousands of pages of state, county and municipal records” reveals how thoroughly officials in Southern California dropped the ball when it came to fire management. Plans to upgrade “aging and severely deteriorated” and “leak-prone” pumping stations were never realized. Modestly priced “fire flow enhancement” projects were abandoned. New connection systems designed to meet emergency needs were delayed and delayed again. Malibu residents, fearing increased water costs and a more robust infrastructure that could support additional construction (and additional neighbors), balked at their obligations.
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