Yesterday I posted an article about the 'Lies, Stupidity and Unnecessary Destruction' in OC County, CA at TheDemDaily and used that as a micro-view of the problem. To understand today's diary please read yesterday's first.
The Orange County Fire Authority Chief said:
From WAPO:"But the fire chief in Orange County, <> complained vociferously that the pool of available assets was too small, especially in the week’s frantic first 36 hours.<> "Yadda yadda yadda," said Fire Chief Chip Prather, dismissing the state’s assurances. "All I know is, I had 12 firefighters deploy their [lifesaving]shelters yesterday, and they shouldn’t have had to do that."
My own comments, in part:
Yesterday, after three days of fires, the Feds finally began the effort to send 6 C-130 aerial tankers from their staging area in Idaho. These are key very effective firefighting tools. They are needed. California has been in a pure fire storm since Sunday. Why did it take three days to start to get us some additional key resources?
The national media's acceptance that Federal actions have been well-coordinated is a pure misrepresentation of the facts. FEMA is non-existent on the ground. Today they may begin to operate.
The UPDATE to my story is that the Hamilton Trail fireline held and perhaps two or three other canyon communities were saved by the pure heroism of the OCFA firefighters, many of whom working for 4 days without stop.
For those who may think I'm writing yesterday and today from a purely news outlet set of resources please read this part yesterday's article:
"Just so you know this isn’t written from merely news resources: I watched that fire eat that canyon from a highpoint on my ranch about 2-3 miles away. I know the area. I was on mandatory evacuation and was nearly arrested merely trying to get back to the ranch to evacuate nine horses and some of my personal belongings. Right now I’m living out of my car."
I hope this brings to the forefront of the campaign the issues of infrastructure and disaster preparedness. I want to hear all the candidates on these issues.
Know this: Through out SoCal the private companies, insurance and otherwise, have been operating very, very well indeed. Our evacuation centers are operating better than planned. People are showing up so much food they were being turned away. Clowns showed up unrequested to entertain the children. Bands simply loaded up, set up and began to entertain the many thousands of evacuees.
Perhaps this is partly because the local and private agencies and resources have learned a larger lesson than the state or federal agencies. Truthfully, I also think, as do many others, that it's partly just the way we, as Californians simply step up to the plate to make a difference.
Again today Bush will show up to try and build up his image. He may honestly believe the Feds have had a part in the well-run evacuation centers he will tour. That's what his aides will tell him.
And it's pure bullshit. I hope the reporters grow a set and get talking to the people in the shelters on the topic. I also hope Bush is confronted by his own WH media.