The LA fires have gotten a tremendous amount of attention in the press, as well they should.
Billions of dollars of damage resulted from out-of-control fires in several of the most elite neighborhoods in America that were seemingly unprepared for what happened. The owners of the homes were left in the street as their houses and prized possessions burned or melted in fires.
As I watch the news casts depicting the damage, I can’t help feeling sorry for those who have lost so much. There is a lot of blame that will ruin the careers of many politicians in California as the causes and responses to the fires are investigated.
How are the residents of the LA neighborhoods going to put their lives back together? The insurance companies that sell them fire insurance certainly will have financial problems. Moving forward, the same companies, if they survive, will likely not insure homeowners against wildfires again in the future.
If potential homeowners can insure their homes, will banks underwrite mortgages. If mortgage money is not available, only people with significant resources will be able to rebuild. Will the State of California help home builders, the insurance companies and the banks? It’s an issue given California’s precarious financial condition.
And what about the cleanup. A huge area has been destroyed. The area contains a serious amount of toxins that need to be cleaned up before new structures are built.
The square footage of the 9/11 and its cleanup was small compared to the LA situation. Hundreds of people were poisoned by toxins exuded by the remains of skyscrapers after 911 during the cleanup. The California situation is far greater in scope.
Presumably, the entire infrastructure of the neighborhoods that were destroyed needs to be rebuilt. You can’t build a house unless the homes have access to electricity, plumbing, sewage, etc.
The 500-pound gorilla in the room is whether LA will be able to finance the next Olympics as planned. What’s more important, rebuilding the neighborhoods afflicted by the wild fires or financing an athletic contest? Perhaps Paris will step up and agree to host the next Olympic Games.
I can’t stop thinking about the devastation. Why would the same homeowners build another house on the old site when wildfires may overwhelm the area again, again and again?
Dysfunctional politicians are looking for people to blame for the catastrophe. Whose fault is it that there was not enough water or firefighters to battle the wildfires? It’s going to take several years before the affected land will be ready for new homes.
This devastation caused by Nature and/or some idiots who dropped a cigarette in a bad place is going to take years to rectify. Good luck with this project.