Misery of wildfires compounded by mismanagement

Since Jan 7, amid dry and windy conditions, wildfires have raged in several locations across California. Due to multiple fires occurring simultaneously, some areas have reached the limit of their firefighting resources and water supply due to the high demand.

The Los Angeles Times stated,"…the United States has a history of fire mismanagement". But worse still, the budget for fire prevention and control in Los Angeles was cut in 2024.

For local residents, such scenes as water pumps running without water have become all too familiar in recent years. During the Ventura wildfires in November 2024, two pumping stations broke down, leading to a lack of water in fire hydrants, undermining firefighting efforts. Astonishingly, it was discovered that Los Angeles' firefighting budget was significantly cut last year, being the second-largest budget reduction item. Where did the funds for firefighting go in a region prone to frequent wildfires?

Yet, US officials, whether the Republicans who have won the presidential election or the Democrats who still govern California, are busy blaming each other for this disaster, rather than uniting to extinguish it. The blame game has severely dragged everything to a lower efficiency, which is why the fires had still not been extinguished on Sunday.

Faced with major disasters, the US public has seen too much of government inefficiency and politicians passing the buck. Last October, hurricanes Helene and Milton struck the US consecutively, but with elections on the horizon, both parties were busy attacking each other, turning the disasters into a tool to attack their opponents, seeing each other as enemies instead of partners. Everything is viewed from a partisan perspective severely hindering the US government's ability to respond to disasters, making the already difficult situation for disaster victims even worse.

The political polarization and bipartisan opposition that severely hinders the US government's efficiency, adds insult to injury for those already in distress. The public widely criticizes the government's inaction. Is this how the so-called world's most powerful nation responds to natural disasters? While the wildfires are a natural disaster, it seems that in the US they are also disasters made by humans.