By Jim Geraghty
Thursday, January 09, 2025
On the menu today: In response to yesterday’s newsletter,
the usual suspects objected that any criticism of Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass
is unfair, because there was no way for her to foresee that the most
destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history was on its way.
·
“It must be because she knew in advance there
would be a fire? Jim is an idiot.”
·
“No
one (including Mayor Bass) could’ve planned for this. She was already out
of the country and did not just flee when things got tough for her
constituents.”
·
“Try
again, loser . . . Bass’s trip started before the fires broke out & she
has returned this morning.”
The facts tell a different story. The National Weather
Service warned about its forecast for intense Santa Ana winds and significantly
higher risk of wildfires two days before Bass departed the city, and the day
before her departure as well. Despite those warnings, the mayor chose to go
halfway around the world to Accra, Ghana to attend the inauguration of Ghanaian
president John Dramani Mahama, ensuring she would not be able to return to the
city for about a day once she arrived.
Los Angeles Democrats, sometimes you just pick a bad one.
The 71-year-old Karen Bass was either oblivious to the forecast for imminent
“extreme fire weather conditions,” or knew about them and chose to go anyway.
Either way, it represents egregiously poor judgment that is disqualifying.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and the National Weather
Service: A Timeline
THURSDAY, JANUARY 2
The National Weather Service station in Los Angeles, one
week ago: “There is the potential for moderate to strong Santa Ana Winds
and extreme fire weather conditions, next Tuesday through Thursday. . . extreme
fire growth/behavior possible if a fire starts and power outages. Use extra
caution with potential fire sources!”
(Also note this assessment from the California
Department of Water Resources that day: “While the snowpack in Northern
California looks good so far, the lack of rain in Southern California has
resulted in a far lower snowpack there. We don’t know what the future has in
store for this year, so California must always be prepared by collecting and
storing as much water and snowmelt runoff as possible.” By 3 a.m. Wednesday,
all water storage tanks in the Palisades area “went dry.”)
FRIDAY, JANUARY 3
The National Weather Service station in Los Angeles, January
3: “A Fire Weather Watch is in effect Tuesday-Friday for portions of Los
Angeles/Ventura Counties. There is the potential for damaging north to
northeast winds, that are likely to peak Tuesday-Wednesday. With no significant
rainfall yet, fire season will continue into the New Year!”
Also from NWS-LA that day: “What causes wildfires? It’s a
combination of many components, including the dryness of fuels (vegetation) and
weather. A Fire Weather Watch is in effect for much of Ventura and LA counties
Tuesday-Friday! Take action now to be prepared!”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, the White House announced the presidential delegation that
would attend the inauguration ceremony in Ghana, roughly 7,400 miles away
from Los Angeles.
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
today announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to attend the
Inauguration of His Excellency John Dramani Mahama on January 7, 2025, in
Accra, Ghana. [Members of the delegation will include] The Honorable Karen
Bass, Mayor of Los Angeles, California.
Back in August 2019, then-congresswoman Karen Bass traveled
to Ghana with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and thirteen members of the
Congressional Black Caucus to “commemorate the 400th year since the enslaved
people were forced to leave their homeland and sent in bondage to the New
World,” as traveling member James Clyburn (D., S.C.) put it, as well as discuss
regional security and the possible expansion of the African Growth and
Opportunity Act.
“This year marks 400 years since the first African
arrived on the shores of America and we know that after the treacherous journey
they began a period of 250 years of enslavement,” Bass said upon her return.
“To travel to Ghana with Members of the Congressional Black Caucus led by the
Speaker of the House, the most powerful woman in America, says a great deal
about the historical ties between our countries and reaffirms our commitment to
Ghana and to the continent of Africa.”
SATURDAY, JANUARY 4
The National Weather Service station in Los Angeles, January
4: “Fire Weather Watches & High Wind Watches are in effect
Tuesday-Friday next week (see graphics for exact times). Strong/damaging N-NE
winds will be possible, likely peaking Tuesday-Wednesday. Stay up to date with
the forecast as we get closer to the event.”
On Saturday, L.A. mayor Karen Bass departed for Accra, Ghana. On commercial flights, it takes
at least sixteen hours to get out there, and a comparable time to get back.
There were no direct flights from Los Angeles to Accra, but there was a direct
flight from Dulles International Airport outside Washington D.C. to Accra,
according to flight records.
Had the mayor read the Los
Angeles Times on the day she departed, she would have read a long
feature article about the ongoing drought conditions, expected high winds and
high risk of wildfires.
The last time Los Angeles recorded
rainfall over a tenth of an inch — the threshold that officials typically
consider helpful for thirsty plants and the reduction of wildfire risk — was
May 5, when downtown received just 0.13 inches of rain.
“It’s safe to say this is [one of]
the top ten driest starts to our rainy season on record,” said Ryan Kittell, a
National Weather Service meteorologist in Oxnard. “Basically, all the plants
are as dry as they normally are in October.”
Current forecasts show little hope
that a needed storm could develop in the next few weeks, and the Southern
California landscape — ripe for wildfire and never far from chronic water shortages — is paying the price.
That lack of rain is likely to
coincide next week with another offshore wind event in Southern California,
Kittell said, which could be potentially damaging.
“Typically we see, at this time of
year, close to 4 inches of rain, which would usually be enough to squash any
significant fire weather concerns,” Kittell said. “But because we haven’t had
anything close to that, and because we’ve had a really active two years [of
plant growth] . . . there’s a lot to burn.”
He said more red flag warnings are
likely to be issued, which were in place in December when the Franklin fire in Malibu broke
out, and in November when the Mountain fire tore through southern Ventura County.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 5
The National Weather Service station in Los Angeles, January
5: “Widespread damaging winds and extreme fire weather conditions are
expected Tuesday afternoon through at least Wednesday. Scattered downed trees
and power outages are likely, in addition to rapid fire growth and extreme
behavior with any fire starts.”
Mayor Bass is in Ghana.
MONDAY, JANUARY 6
The warnings from the National Weather Service station in
Los Angeles grew even more dire on January
6: “HEADS UP!!! A LIFE-THREATENING, DESTRUCTIVE, Widespread Windstorm is
expected Tue afternoon-Weds morning across much of Ventura/LA Co. Areas not
typically windy will be impacted. See graphic for areas of greatest concern.
Stay indoors, away from windows, expect power outage.”
The NWS elaborated on what made the
forecast more dangerous than usual: “The wind direction of this event is
more from the [north-northeast] rather than typical [northeast-east] Santa
Ana’s. This means the strongest wind corridors shift more east & focus over
more of Los Angeles County than is typical (including San Gabriel foothills)
rather than the Ventura Coast.”
Later that day, the
NWS updated, “the strongest wind areas of LA and Ventura Counties will see
widespread N-NE wind gusts of 50-80 mph, with isolated gusts up to 80-100 mph
in the mountains and foothills.” The service’s final
warning to the public that day states, “strong winds are coming. This is a
Particularly Dangerous Situation — in other words, this is about as bad as it
gets in terms of fire weather. Stay aware of your surroundings. Be ready to
evacuate, especially if in a high fire risk area. Be careful with fire
sources.”
Mayor Bass is still in Ghana. Her X
account warns, “There is an expected destructive and potentially
life-threatening windstorm starting Tuesday morning through Wednesday
afternoon. Red Flag No Parking Restrictions will go into effect in certain
areas tomorrow morning. Stay safe LA!”
TUESDAY, JANUARY 7
The National Weather Service station in Los Angeles, January
7: “Strong, damaging and potentially life-threatening #SantaAnaWinds are
still on track for #SoCal. Be prepared for strong winds and high fire danger.”
Captain Eric Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department, to
the CBS Los Angeles affiliate morning show: “We’re going to see some
significant winds coming, very shortly, throughout Los Angeles County, Ventura
County, that creates some potential explosive wildfire behavior, plus toppling
trees and downed wires, so be prepared. . . [In this area] there are also
narrow streets and choke points, and that’s why there are parking restrictions
and designated signage areas throughout Los Angeles. There are hairpin turns
where people are driving, trying to come out and evacuate, and a big red fire
truck is trying to come up. We’re gonna get stuck. So please heed those
warnings. . . when you get these significant winds that are coming, it can be
extremely challenging. . . The National Weather Service has criteria of
severity — there’s minor, moderate, major. We are well above that, into
extreme. A lot of people remember, just a month ago, we had a wind event, a
significant wildfire broke out in Malibu. This is going to be a much stronger
wind event than that was.”
On Tuesday, Bass attended the inauguration of Ghanaian
President John Dramani Mahama.
The Palisades Fire started burning around 10:30 a.m. local
time Tuesday.
The
Eaton Fire broke out in Altadena near Pasadena around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The
Hurst Fire ignited in Sylmar, in the San Fernando Valley northwest of
downtown Los Angeles, around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8
The wildfires continue their devastation of Los Angeles
County.
Bass returned to Los Angeles at noon Wednesday. While
getting off her commercial plane in Los Angeles International Airport, Bass stood silently as a Sky News reporter peppered her with
questions about her trip and absence from the city during a crisis.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Bass contended
she took the “fastest route back” to the U.S., traveling one leg of the journey
on a military plane. “I was able to be on the phone the entire time of the
flight,” she said.
Everyone in Ghana would have understood if Bass had to
cancel or cut short her trip and return to her city early. There were three
other people in the U.S. delegation; the presence of Bass wasn’t even mentioned in local coverage in
Ghana. Attending the inauguration of the president is a nice little perk
for U.S. officials, not a priority for the mayor of one of the country’s
largest cities.
Karen Bass had a job, and in the days leading up to a
crisis that makes the L.A. riots look like a minor disturbance, she chose to be
on the other side of the world. To quote
Oliver Queen, “you have failed this city.”
As of this writing, at least five Los Angelenos are dead,
more than 2,000 homes, businesses, and other buildings have been
damaged or destroyed, and more than 130,000 have been ordered to evacuate or
warned.
No comments:
Post a Comment