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Caruso calls out 'excuses' to fire prep, response
After touring the "widespread destruction" of the Palisades Fire, Rick Caruso says he's "more hopeful" than he's ever been about the community's ability to recover, but said that officials have been making excuses for why there wasn't enough water to fight the blaze.
LOS ANGELES - The Palisades Fire has burned nearly 20,000 acres on the west side of Los Angeles, and after several days it is still at 0% containment. Early on, fierce winds combined with limited access to water made the firefight difficult, as the flames continued to spread.
Now, the Palisades Fire is one of at least five major fires burning in Los Angeles County as of 4 p.m. Thursday.
Many residents have expressed frustration with the preparation for and response to the fires plaguing the area, including real estate developer and former LA mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, who blamed officials' "excuses" and "negligence" for the devastation of the Palisades Fire.
"I think that career politicians have making excuses down to a fine art, and you see it rolling out and trying to explain why there wasn't water," Caruso said to FOX 11's Marla Telles and Elex Michaelson. "Nobody wants to excuse why they lost their homes, why they lost their business."
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During a press briefing on Thursday, officials mentioned that fire hydrants, which experienced pressure issues, were meant to fight house fires, not massive wildfires. But, Caruso just labeled that another excuse.
"You talk to the firefighters, they were so frustrated because they didn't have the water pressure they needed," Caruso said. "They didn't have the water that they needed. They're standing with dry hoses. And this malarkey about fire hydrants are intended for homes and not for wildfires like this. My God, what an excuse to make."
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Caruso also pointed out the forecasts as far back as last week, predicting "life-threatening" and "destructive" winds that could fan the flames of fires, as well as the Franklin Fire, which broke out in nearby Malibu last month. With advanced knowledge of the winds and recent fires, Caruso said fire officials' preparations "weren't enough."
"It wasn't breaking news that there may be a fire here," Caruso said. "And because of the negligence of our government leaders and our government officials, we have the Santa Monica Mountains, the density of that brush was fuel just waiting to explode. And that's when it did. And then, on top of the high winds, you just had everything come together. Could it have been prevented? Probably not. Could it have been mitigated? There's no doubt in my mind."