Los Angeles fires point up government dysfunction

Editor's note: Anthony Moretti, a special commentator for CGTN, is an associate professor at the Department of Communication and Organizational Leadership at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, the U.S. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN.

The devastating fires surrounding Los Angeles show no sign of letting up. The death toll surged to at least 24 over the weekend and that number could climb in the coming days. Tens of thousands of people are homeless and some fled the fires with little more than the clothes they were wearing. The monetary losses cannot be calculated now with any certainty, but private forecaster AccuWeather's estimation places it at up to $150 billion.

There is no other way to say it: The Los Angeles area will never be the same again.

The federal, state and local governments' responses to disasters also should never be the same again. It is too soon to say which level of government combating the Los Angeles fires has been the worst. The tragic errors in one of the world's most beautiful cities have led to doubts around the country and across the globe about governmental interests in the U.S.

As I write this, I am doing something that I try to never do: Make it personal. I grew up in Los Angeles County, and that means the emotional rollercoaster that I have been on over the past few days is real. I called the area home for roughly two decades, and I know too many "Angelenos," the affectionate name for people who live in the Los Angeles area. I hurt watching people whom I do not know crying.

The absence of water to fight the fires might turn out to be the national memory of this awful crisis. One journalist noted that fire hydrants were out of water, hampering firefighters' efforts to control the spread of the flames. In fact, water has been a problem from the initial days of the conflagrations. An engineer for the county's Department of Water and Power offered what might be a plausible explanation: At one time, the amount of water needed to fight multiple fires was so massive that the water tanks could not be refilled quickly enough.

Even if that claim is valid, images of planes soaking up water in the nearby Pacific Ocean and then dropping it on the fires are a reminder that without that technology the devastation would be much worse.

Meanwhile, the intergovernmental reaction has been atrocious with finger pointing. President-elect Donald Trump has called California governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass guilty of "gross incompetence" while also claiming that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) "has no money"  and therefore cannot offer desperately needed aid (which is not true).

The governor and the mayor are Democrats, and Trump relishes bashing members of that party whenever he can. His virulent comments call into question how helpful his administration will be once he is sworn in as president on January 20. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden seems to offer little more than boilerplate language about how his administration will assist the state.

Another troubling aspect is the war of words between Bass and city fire chief Kristin Crowley. Crowley has appeared on multiple national and local television programs during which she chastised the mayor for approving budget cuts to the fire department. In one interview, she said, "My message is the fire department needs to be properly funded." She added, "It's not."

The mayor seemed lost as she refused to answer a journalist's questions about the fires. Later, she tried to defuse the controversy by suggesting there was no greater priority than extinguishing them.

Legitimate leaders keep interpersonal friction out of the public eye. Unfortunately, the public discussion surrounding these two women amplifies what appears to be people in authority running from responsibility. That, too, will make outsiders question how effective the government is.

But Bass and Crowley are not alone in shirking responsibility. Newsom was attacked by critics who asked why he first showed up in the area for what looked to be nothing more than a photo op. 

Let's not ignore the reality here: Newsom's name has been linked over the past couple of years to a presidential run. He has not served himself or his state well by suggesting his office, which also endorsed state-level cuts to firefighting, was blameless.

What has taken place in Los Angeles over the past few days requires asking about ineffective government. To put it bluntly, many people are asking just who is in charge. The federal government defers to the states to come up with their own ways to address problems, which means that California and Oregon, which are neighboring states, might have different philosophies about how to prevent, prepare for and combat environmental disasters.

The federal agencies, such as FEMA, often come in to assist people with recovery needs, but local authorities remain in charge of the overall effort. That means city and state officials request what they want FEMA to do. Local and state leaders will defend this authority, arguing that they know their area and state best. Then conflicting messages will result once again, leading to even more questions about quality government.

Whether looking to Los Angeles, Sacramento or Washington, leadership is lacking as the fires continue to burn. People who expected appropriate responses from multiple governmental agencies deserve much better than what they have received so far.

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