PACIFIC PALISADES, California — Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to stage a photo-op Tuesday afternoon to mark the start of debris removal after the Palisades Fire — even though the state government has little to do with it.
Update: Following publication of this story by Breitbart News, reporters were told that Newsom would not be appearing at the event, but rather that other federal and state agencies would hold a press event on their own. Mayor Karen Bass, reporters were told, would speak at the event. Reporters from Fox LA (KTTV-11), CBS Los Angeles (KCAL-9), and NBC Los Angeles (4) had been under the impression that Gov. Newsom was due to speak at the event.
Debris removal proceeds in two stages. Phase 1 Hazardous Material Removal involves the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Administrator Lee Zeldin came to Pacific Palisades last week to oversee that process.
Phase 2 Private Property Debris Removal begins after the EPA has removed hazardous material. It is conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or by private contractors. Debris is transported to local landfills using permits, obtained from the local city and county government.
The State of California has no direct role to play in debris removal, except that the California Office of Emergency Services (OES) “tasked” the EPA with Phase 1 responsibility, according to a press release Monday from the governor’s office.
Nevertheless, Gov. Newsom is planning a grand ceremony Tuesday, with sparkling, freshly-cleaned earth-moving machines lined up along the street, and the American and California flags suspended from excavators on either side.
The excavators are positioned in front of the first address to have signed up for debris removal by the Army Corps. The home is in the Marquez Knolls neighborhood, where this author lives, which was largely destroyed in the fire.
Locals believe that many homes could have been saved if firefighters had been pre-deployed, if there had been enough water pressure in the fire hydrants, and if the 177-million gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir had not been nearly empty.
Asked about the water shortages during the fire, Newsom said that it was not his responsibility — that “local folks are trying to figure it out.” He has since ordered an investigation into why the reservoir was empty before fire season.
He also appeared to blame locals for failing to evacuate — when in fact many locals were trapped in the neighborhood due to the failure of officials to order an evacuation and to direct traffic.
Newsom has since spoken about banning the planting of trees and foliage within five feet of homes in fire-prone areas.
He has also pushed back against claims that he cut the state firefighting budget. FactCheck.org said that he proposed “cuts to one-time supplemental funding for some wildfire-related programs” but that he has raised overall spending on firefighting since taking office.
However, he was faulted by Capital Public Radio in 2021 for misleading the public about the extent of his wildfire prevention programs, which had shown “little evidence of the year-round attention Newsom promised” in 2019.
On Friday, Newsom signed $50 million in new spending by the state to fight the Trump administration’s policies and provide legal services to illegal aliens. Newsom is seeking billions of dollars in federal aid for the Palisades and Eaton fires.
He previously accused President Donald Trump of trying to “politicize” the fires by blaming state mismanagement.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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