(LifeSiteNews) — A veteran LA firefighter says a “perfect storm” of mismanagement has contributed to the disaster of this week’s uncontrolled Los Angeles blazes, the most destructive in the city’s history.
John Knox, a 23-year veteran LA firefighter and founder of Firefighters4Freedom, a medical freedom nonprofit, told LifeSiteNews that a “broad spectrum” of factors have contributed to the failure to manage the enormous blaze ravaging Pacific Palisades, as well as fires plaguing other LA metropolitan neighborhoods.
Knox confirmed that, as media outlets have been reporting, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) is facing a critical shortage of workers, a problem Knox says is worsened by Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies which prevent many qualified individuals from being hired. “You need the most capable people to do this type of job, and you’re passing them up,” he noted.
Media outlets are reporting that LA’s current number of firefighters, an estimated 3,500, are so insufficient to deal with the Palisades fire that the city is using incarcerated men to help battle the inferno.
According to Knox, the LAFD not only suffers from a lack of staff, but a lack of equipment — problems both exacerbated by an anemic budget, which was slashed by over $17 million last year.
“They’re short on fire trucks. We have our own shops that do repairs, but we don’t have mechanics there, because they’ve cut the funding for that. We have apparatus that are just sitting there that need to be repaired,” said Knox.
When asked about reports of lack of water and water pressure in LA needed to combat the Palisades flames, Knox attributed this to “horrible” planning.
“They have dry hydrants. You’ve got the Department saying it’s too much of a strain on the system, that they couldn’t fit the reservoirs fast enough. That’s poor city planning. You know this city is prone to wildfires — you should have adequate resources in case there’s a brush fire in that area,” Knox told LifeSiteNews.
He also pointed out that there have been reports of a power outage in the LA area, which weakens firefighting capabilities because power is needed to run the hydrants and water tanks.
“Why isn’t there a back-up generator system?” questioned Knox, adding, “There’s a lot of questions that need to be asked of these leaders.”
Worse, the city of LA “suspended all fire hydrant testing this year,” according to Knox. He explained that every January, they test the hydrants “to make sure there’s no bad ones,” and not at any additional cost. “Why weren’t the hydrants tested?”
In reference to President Trump’s accusation that California Governor Gavin Newsom refusing to sign legislation that would have “allowed millions of gallons of water…to flow daily” into areas of California including the ones now in flames, Knox affirmed that there has been a “big ongoing battle” about diverting this water into southern California instead of into the ocean, where the state has decided to release it.
“It’s complete mismanagement from upper leadership, whether it’s the mayor, the fire chief, the Department of Water and Power,” Knox concluded.
It’s been nearly TWO days since the Pacific Palisades fire started and still not enough fire fighters. No fire fighters on this burning home… with several homes threatened. I’ve never scene something like this so late in the game. pic.twitter.com/siiVaVWzio
— Jonathan Vigliotti 🐋 (@JonVigliotti) January 9, 2025