Thinking about the really lame governmental responses to the LA area fires forces upon one the following conclusion. We have to blame the relevant elected officials, and they are all Democrats.
I'm talking about the Governor, super majorities of both houses of the CA legislature, the Mayor of LA, the City Council, the Coastal Commission, the DWP, you name it. All are Democrats, even those supposedly nonpartisan.
As you might imagine, Republicans are going to point out this Democrat monopolization of the levers of power in the Golden State generally and in the LA basin in particular. We already hear these officials bemoaning the injection of politics into a naturally occurring tragedy. It has been amplified by their governmental malfeasance, corruption, misplaced priorities and general ineptitude.
Wildfires are a fact of life in California, and as such their management must be high on the priority list of any CA official. If that had been the case, we wouldn't be talking about the worst firestorm in the area's history.
Firefighting isn't sexy but it is absolutely essential. Doing it well is expected but wins you no kudos from the voters. Like the current Secretary of Transportation, you only notice it when it's done poorly or fails.
LA has failed the test, and its voters are going to notice. CA also has failed the test, and its voters will notice as well.
It will be surprising if the political careers of Gov. Newsom and Mayor Bass aren't damaged beyond repair because this firestorm happened on their watch, during their incumbency. It was made orders of magnitude worse by their mismanagement.
Fire hydrants without water are ridiculous. The equivalent of cops knowingly carrying unloaded weapons.