"Blazes in these areas consume, in addition to brush and undergrowth, all sorts of manufactured materials: lead paint and piping, lithium batteries and computers..."

"... cleaning solutions and artificial fibers, automobiles and electric wires. Soil samples collected from the Palisades and Altadena have revealed the presence of heavy metals and other toxic elements, including arsenic, lead and mercury. If not properly remediated, such contamination can linger, with potential effects including not only cancer but also damage to the brain and nervous system, especially in children under 3.... For all the visible damage to Altadena and the Palisades, in other words, there is a more insidious set of dangers, both in the homes and structures left undamaged and throughout the broader region. Even after the January fires stopped burning, wind distributed toxic smoke and ash across much of Los Angeles County, before blowing them out to the Pacific by way of Long Beach...."

Writes David L. Ulin, a USC English professor who wrote a book called "Sidewalking: Coming to Terms With Los Angeles," in "Los Angeles Is Contaminated Now" (NYT).

"L.A. is ours, this is our city. This is what my morning walk turned into. They’re terrorizing our neighborhood."

Said Mikema Nahmir, who "said he was out for his morning walk at 11 a.m. when he saw two women running down the street yelling that 'la migra' was at MacArthur Park" and who "joined the group of protesters who chased and yelled after the military-style trucks."

Nahmir is quoted in "Heavily armed immigration agents descend on L.A.’s MacArthur Park" (L.A. Times)("Immigration agents in military green surrounded MacArthur Park as the convoy readied for a show of force akin to a Hollywood movie. They came with horses and armored vehicles, carrying rifles and in tactical gear in the middle of what is the heart of immigrant Los Angeles").

The phrase "carrying rifles and in tactical gear..." should be relocated next to the word "They" so that grammar mavens do not get distracted into efforts to craft a Grouchoesque how-he-got-in-my-pajamas joke out of the image of horses (and armored vehicles) carrying rifles and tactical gear. This is not an occasion for cheap linguistic jokes. There was a military show of power in MacArthur Park... like a striped pair of pants.

Trump asserts that he "saved L.A."

At Truth Social:

The Appeals Court ruled last night that I can use the National Guard to keep our cities, in this case Los Angeles, safe. If I didn’t send the Military into Los Angeles, that city would be burning to the ground right now. We saved L.A. Thank you for the Decision!!!

You never get to find out what would have happened if what was done had not been done. When do courts choose to stop a President and find out what the alternative would look like? Depends on the judges, but I tend to think they don't want to know. It's scary, and Trump is trying to scare them.

Once again, we've got alternating pro- and anti-Trump headlines at Real Clear Politics.

I blogged a screen grab like this 2 days ago, here, so let's take a look today's image of distanced balance:

Once again, I'll use my time-saving method of picking one of each:

On the anti side, I'm going with Judith Levine, "Trump is waging war against citizens in LA. This is a dangerous new era/In its first months in office, the Trump administration enacted what could be called soft authoritarianism. Now we are in a second phase" (The Guardian):

Everybody's talking about L.A.

A glance at Real Clear Politics:

I love the way RCP just alternates pro- and anti-Trump headlines. I'll just check in on one of each:

"The Reason The Left Loves Riots/Is Because It Hates Civilization," asserts Michael Shellenberger: "It's 'inflammatory' to enforce migration laws, say Democrats. But it's not. It's essential for protecting the vulnerable. The reason the Left opposes law enforcement is that they take pleasure at the destruction of civilization, at least so long as it only hurts other people."

"We are witnessing the first stages of a Trump police state," warns Robert Reich: "As civilian control gives way to military control, the nation splits into those who are most vulnerable to it and those who support it. The dictatorship entrenches itself by fomenting fear and anger on both sides. These are frightening and depressing times. But remember: although it takes one authoritarian to establish a police state, it takes just 3.5% of a population to topple him and end it."

That link on "3.5%" goes to a definition "the 3.5% rule": "Nonviolent protests are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts – and those engaging a threshold of 3.5% of the population have never failed to bring about change." Reich is hoping 3.5% of Americans will take to the streets — peacefully and patriotically — and "topple" the duly elected President.

Both Shellenberger and Reich say they're for peace, and both also say that they believe the other side is out for violence.

"Shortly after President Trump praised the National Guard for their work in Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass reminded residents that the troops had not arrived."

"'Just to be clear, the National Guard has not been deployed in the City of Los Angeles,' she said on social media."

Written in the NYT, 3 hours ago.

More detail, again from the NYT, published 3 hours ago:

National Guard troops will arrive in Los Angeles County within the next 24 hours, the Trump administration’s top law enforcement official in Southern California said, to quell protests over immigration enforcement that are “out of control.”

Bilal A. “Bill” Essayli, the interim U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said in an interview on Saturday night that the 2,000 troops were needed to keep the peace in the sprawling region.... "They threw rocks at the officers,” Mr. Essayli said. “We had Molotov cocktails thrown. We had all kinds of assaults on agents. The state has an obligation to maintain order and maintain public safety, and they’re unable to do that right now in Los Angeles. So the federal government will send in resources to regain order.”...

Gov. Gavin Newsom pushed back against the president’s order, calling it “purposefully inflammatory.” Mr. Trump had federalized the National Guard “not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle,” Mr. Newsom said.

“The governor doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” said Mr. Essayli, a former Republican state legislator who before his federal appointment in April was a frequent critic of Mr. Newsom, a Democrat.

"If film and if film and TV productions continue to move out of California due to tax incentives in other states what might the future look for Los Angeles? Is there a risk of it becoming the next Detroit."

That's a question from the audience, and Bill Maher snaps, "Well, there's no need to shit on Detroit in the question! Detroit's a fine city. Detroit!"

That was Friday night, but here's a headline that appeared in the London Times earlier the same day: "Why Hollywood could be the new Detroit/It’s a town built on one industry. So what happens when everyone realises it’s cheaper and easier to film in Hertfordshire?"

So you can see the need to "shit" on Detroit. It's a city with one iconic industry, and it lost it and went into severe decline. It pithily expresses the threat to L.A.

In that Bill Maher/"Overtime" clip, Adam Schiff says that because the movie industry is a "prize economic and cultural driver of the United States" — and he loves movies — the U.S. needs to offer tax incentives.

The other guest, Bret Stephens asks: "But why should it just be for Hollywood? It should be for normal people. It should be for any kind of entrepreneur, not just celebrities... whose pictures and whose faces you know.... It shouldn't just simply be a favorite industry — Oh, we can't lose our our movie stars!"

"Some film people, including a few studio executives who have lost everything, have been pushing for a quick return to business as usual..."

"... including resuming red carpet premieres and campaigns for the Oscars. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday extended the nominee voting period until the end of this week; the ceremony will take place on March 2 as planned. But others questioned a 'show must go on' approach. 'We have to ask ourselves: How do we as a business respond to real catastrophe?' [Terry Press, a veteran movie marketer and a past president of CBS Films]. 'Thoughts and prayers and, by the way, my gown is by Gucci?... The decision to be made is whether we protect the image or whether we set an example that mirrors the best storytelling by demonstrating empathy, leadership, compassion and heroism.'"

From "Hollywood’s Filmmaking Continues Despite L.A. Wildfires/Because of costs, few movies are shot locally, leaving the industry in a surreal spot: reeling from personal loss with much of the business untouched" (NYT).

"Are Hollywood film crews getting good footage of fires for use in later movies?"

I asked Grok.

Answer:

There is evidence suggesting that Hollywood film crews might be capturing footage of current fires for potential use in future movies. Several posts on X have indicated that filmmakers are taking advantage of the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles for this purpose. Users on the platform have expressed concern or cynicism about the ethics of filming such disasters, suggesting that some crews are indeed out capturing footage of the fires, especially given the proximity to iconic locations like the Hollywood sign.... There's no direct confirmation from official sources or news articles within the web results provided that Hollywood is currently exploiting these specific fires for footage, although the idea aligns with past practices in film where real-life events have been used for authenticity or stock footage.

Governor Newsom's seesawing shoulders inject horror into the phrase "some ideas around some land use concerns... around speculators coming in."

NO FU*KING WAY.

"I was just talking to Josh Green, the governor down in Hawaii, who had some ideas around some land use concerns he has around speculators coming in, buying up properties.

So we're already working with our legal teams to to move those things forward and we'll… pic.twitter.com/ed1Msb8O0v

— HustleBitch (@HustleBitch_) January 13, 2025

Discussed at X, here.

How do you read that body language (and facial expression)? I'm seeing knowledge that speculators have already outrun him and cannot be stopped. What do you think?

That shoulder action seems to say: Everyone has always found me so cute, so I'll try being extra cute. It's all I've got.

ADDED: If Newsom had controlled his body language, I would have been inclined to think that he was getting ahead of the problem and that talking to the Governor of Hawaii — who dealt with the aftermath of the Maui fires — made a lot of sense.

"The fires are still raging in L.A. The incompetent pols have no idea how to put them out. Thousands of magnificent houses are gone..."

"... and many more will soon be lost. There is death all over the place. This is one of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Country. They just can’t put out the fires. What’s wrong with them?"

Trump wrote on Truth Social 3 hours ago (that is to say, in the middle of the night).

And, here, the NYT got a guy to write a whole article about it in the middle of the night: "Trump Calls Officials Handling Los Angeles Wildfires ‘Incompetent’/Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles County authorities have invited President-elect Donald J. Trump to tour the devastation, but he has not publicly responded."

Published at 4:37 a.m. Ah, but I clicked on the reporter's name — Mike Ives — and I see he's "based in Seoul." It was 6:37 p.m. — Korea Standard Time. A normal work day. The NYT didn't roust some reporter in the middle of the night to make an article out of the most recent Trump truthing.

"Mr. Trump’s comments indicated that the fires, and officials’ response to them, will likely occupy a prominent place on his domestic political agenda when he takes office on Jan. 20. He has renewed a longstanding feud with California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, who in turn has accused Mr. Trump of politicizing the fires."

Is it wrong to "politicize" the fires? Isn't fire fighting one of the top services we demand from government? I can see saying, don't distract us with recriminations while we're right in the middle of an epic struggle against fire, but that only means, don't politicize yet. But are they fighting the fire right now or are they helpless? And if they are helpless, are we supposed to refrain from asking why are they helpless?

ADDED: I wondered if there are earlier examples of anyone ever saying "There is death all over the place." I only found one thing, at Internet Public Library, from what looks like a sample answer to a predicable high-school essay test question: "Similarities Between Death Of A Salesman And Hamlet": "In Hamlet there is death all over the place...."

"A large reservoir in Pacific Palisades that is part of the Los Angeles water supply system was out of commission when a ferocious wildfire destroyed thousands of homes and other structures nearby..."

"... the Los Angeles Times found," in "State to probe why Pacific Palisades reservoir was offline, empty when firestorm exploded" (L.A. Times).

Officials said that the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been closed since about February for repairs to its cover, leaving a 117-million-gallon water storage complex empty in the heart of the Palisades for nearly a year. The revelation comes amid growing questions about why firefighters ran out of water while battling the blaze, which ignited Tuesday during catastrophically high winds.... 

"I was doing the Rogan podcast and I was kind of ill at ease while we were talking because I knew my neighborhood was on fire."

"So I thought, I wonder if my place is still there. When I got home, sure enough, it wasn't there ... The vehicles were gone, everything. It was completely toasted. I've never seen such a complete burn. It's like someone did it on purpose to really destroy every aspect of it."

Said Mel Gibson...

NEW – Mel Gibson's Malibu Mansion Burned Down While He Was Filming Joe Rogan's Podcast

"I was doing the Rogan podcast and I was kind of ill at ease while we were talking because I knew my neighborhood was on fire. So I thought, I wonder if my place is still there. When I got… pic.twitter.com/TvknivxywB

— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) January 10, 2025

... who did look oddly nervous on Joe Rogan...

Reflecting on his losses — in that first clip — he said it was all his "stuff — remember George Carlin, talking about his stuff?"

Mel: "I've been relieved of the burden of my stuff."

Gavin Newsom literally lies to a woman about the fires, and we can literally see that it is a lie.

WOMAN: "Governor!... I live here! That was my daughter's school! Please, tell me what you're going to do!"

NEWSOM: "I'm literally talking to the President to specifically answer the question of what we can do...."

WOMAN: "Can I hear? Can I hear your call? Because I don't believe it."

NEWSOM (showing her his phone): "Um, I'm sorry. There's literally — I've tried 5 times. I'm walking around to make the call."

WOW. This woman literally ran up to Gavin Newsom on the street and demanded answers on his disastrous wildfires response — and she was NOT taking no for an answer. Good for her. pic.twitter.com/GNjUATtKXt

— Jake Schneider (@jacobkschneider) January 9, 2025

"The iconic Sunset Boulevard has been left as a mishmash of charred buildings and devastation by the Palisades fire."

"Once the fire receded from the fabled thoroughfare, locals described seeing banks, such as the historic Bank of America building, cafes and supermarkets levelled by the blaze. 'The whole Palisades is done,' Michael Payton, store director of the Erewhon supermarket chain, told the LA Times. “The whole town is done. This is complete devastation.' Residents of the Palisades have gathered at police blockades begging to be let to assess the damage to their homes, according to the paper...."

From "LA fires live: five dead in California as satellite captures destruction/Flames tear through homes and buildings in the Pacific Palisades and surrounding counties — as Sunset Boulevard is destroyed" (London Times).

"You know in Los Angeles, you can't get proper amounts of water... In order to protect a tiny little fish, the water up north gets routed into the Pacific Ocean."

"Donald Trump was mocked for sounding the alarm on the California water/fire crisis during his interview with Joe Rogan. Turns out, he was right. Trump spent nearly 7 minutes ranting about the issue, blasting Newsom for doing nothing to fix the problem."

Tweets Collin Rugg.

An excerpt from Trump's rant about the water: "Millions and millions of gallons of water gets poured [into the Pacific].... I got it all done. Nobody could believe it. It was all done. I said, I got it. You got so much water. All you have to do is sign, and [Newsom] didn't wanna sign.... Every time I go to California, I say you have so much water. They don't know it... I'm telling you, people living in Beverly Hills, they turn off the water...."

Donald Trump was mocked for sounding the alarm on the California water/fire crisis during his interview with Joe Rogan.

Turns out, he was right.

Trump spent nearly 7 minutes ranting about the issue, blasting Newsom for doing nothing to fix the problem.

Trump specifically… pic.twitter.com/zSls82byPo

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 8, 2025

ADDED: The Trump episode of Joe Rogan went up on October 25, 2024, and if you go here, at Podscribe, you'll be at the beginning of Trump's L.A. water rant, with both audio and transcript. I'll do my own edit of the text:

Counting blessings, running short.

10 hours ago:

We were blessed to have LA fire and police depts doing their jobs so well. We are safe and out. There are several elementary schools in our neighborhood and there was an enormous community effort to evacuate the children safely. Can not speak more highly of the LA fire and LAPD. pic.twitter.com/bdsSJmvQel

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 7, 2025

 

13 minutes ago:

Priorities stated in her bio below.

Refilling the water reservoirs would have been a welcome priority, too, but I guess she had too much on her plate promoting diversity. pic.twitter.com/7GXgBR3RO2

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) January 8, 2025

"This is people taking it upon themselves to use a space that in many ways was abandoned by people with money and power."

"In the 1990s, there was this moral panic about graffiti being linked to gangs, but times have changed... Even if people don’t like it — and they’re entitled not to like it — they understand that graffiti is not connected to violence."

Said Stefano Bloch, "a cultural geographer, a professor at the University of Arizona and a former graffiti artist," quoted in "Multiple Floors of Los Angeles Skyscrapers Are Covered in Graffiti/The graffiti has brought attention to the empty buildings, which have been abandoned since 2019 and are across from the venue where the Grammy Awards will be hosted on Sunday" (NYT).

Human activity flows into unused spaces. It's the story of civilization. But is that unlinked to gangs? Don't gangs come into existence where there is emptiness in the social order?

Nature abhors a vacuum.

"The land was so steep, he said, 'it was just a guardrail and a cliff.' But the view over the city was breathtaking."

"And when [he] crept up to the edge of the 0.15-acre lot, he could see that it wasn’t actually a cliff. There was land below, but the hillside fell away like a black-diamond ski run.... 'Obviously, it’s incredibly steep,' [said the architect]. 'But steepness doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not buildable. What makes it buildable is the geology. And we’re pretty fortunate in L.A. to have really steep lots that are actually pretty healthy below the surface.'"

From "The Tiny Lot Was So Steep It Was Almost Vertical. But That View..." (NYT).

Very interesting design making a lot out of what was so close to nothing that it only cost $45,000 to buy the lot. There's even a swimming pool, tucked in behind the house, with an underwater window that looks into the kitchen. And the shower has a transparent glass wall looking out over the city. The caption reads:

Because no neighbors have views into the house, the shower has a wall of clear glass that allows Mr. Arnold to take in the view.... “It’s like showering outside,” he said.

No neighbors. But there's a whole city out there. Yes, the buildings are pretty far off, but people have telescopic lenses, a subject I wrote about in 2014, in "Speaking of naked...":

"'Horror.' That’s how one train operator recently described the scenes he sees daily."

"He declined to use his name because he was not authorized to talk to the media. Earlier that day, as he drove the Red Line subway, he saw a man masturbating in his seat and several people whom he refers to as 'sleepers,' people who get high and nod off on the train. 'We don’t even see any businesspeople anymore. We don’t see anybody going to Universal. It’s just people who have no other choice [than] to ride the system, homeless people and drug users.'"

From "L.A. riders bail on Metro trains amid ‘horror’ of deadly drug overdoses, crime" (L.A. Times).