Many things preceded the “nonsensical” response by Los Angeles and California state leaders to the devastating wildfires that continue to rage in the region, according to historian and political commentator. Victor Davis Hanson.
“To mitigate the consequences, you have to know what went wrong, and there were short-term and long-term problems,” Davis, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution public policy think tank, told Fox News Digital in an interview on Tuesday. “And I don’t think climate change has played a role, at least not immediately.”
Davis described the situation as an ‘awakened green hydrogen bomb’ Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass absences during the critical first 24 hours of the inferno to clear fire hydrants, a dysfunctional reservoir, a defunded fire department and a lack of new water infrastructure despite Governor Gavin Newsom’s support of the billions of dollars allocated to tackle the problem to take.
Historian Victor Davis Hanson shares his analysis of what went wrong that led to the catastrophic wildfire management in Los Angeles. (Getty Images)
“It’s a very fragile system,” Hanson said. “What Gavin Newsom didn’t do is he didn’t use the allocated money and build the reservoirs that could have accommodated the increased population. Number two, he has let go of the water that is pumped across the (Sacramento-San Joaquin River) Delta. into the bay under the demands of environmentalists. He said in his defense that the reservoirs are full. That’s not true semi-drought right now.”
Newsom told NBC News in a pre-recorded interview that aired Sunday: “The reservoirs are completely full – the state reservoirs here in Southern California. I don’t think that misinformation and disinformation benefits or helps any of us.”
But as of Tuesday, Shasta Lake, California’s largest reservoir, was at 77% capacity and held about 3.52 million acre-feet of water out of its total capacity of 4.55 million acre-feet. according to the Complaints Bureau.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Newsom’s office for comment and has not yet received a response.
California exists reservoirs can only hold a certain amount of water, and many were built in the mid-20th century.
In 2014, the Golden State electors were adopted Proposal 1also known as the Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure Improvement Act, which authorized $2.7 billion in bonds to increase the state’s water storage capacity through the construction of new reservoirs and groundwater storage facilities. Yet no new reservoirs have been completed since January under Prop. 1.
In 2024, the state experienced record-breaking rainfall after an atmospheric river event, but existing water infrastructure had problems managing the sudden influx of water. A significant portion of that rainfall was dumped into the ocean as the state struggles to properly store water, multiple California agencies said.
“There was a reservoir of about 120 million gallons that could have been used because they only had three million in reserve — that probably would have made the difference,” Hanson said. “It had been standing still for almost a year, and that was because the cover was torn. It was just nonsensical.”
The decommissioned reservoir Hanson was referring to, known as the Santa Ynez Reservoir in Pacific Palisades, has been closed for repairs since February due to a crack in the liner, which was designed to maintain water quality, according to the Los Angeles Times. reported Tuesday.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has been criticized for being on a trip to Africa when the wildfires broke out, while California Governor Gavin Newsom has shifted the blame and ordered an independent review of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power . (AP/Getty)
Hanson has a central valley farm that relies on snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada Mountains, he explained.
In California’s Central Valley, agricultural water typically comes from the Sierra, primarily through the San Joaquin River system, which is supported by large dams such as Shaver, Huntington and Pine Flat. That water is often discharged into the Sacramento River, which flows into the Delta. Despite increasing demand, no new dams have been built on the San Joaquin system in decades.
On the west side of the valley, water comes from melted snow Northern California Cascade Range and the northern Sierra, filling larger reservoirs such as Oroville and Folsom. These reservoirs are designed to store water during wet years, ensuring a steady supply in average years and a backup for drought years.
However, California has suffered a prolonged dry spell, with little rain or snow in recent weeks, causing reservoir levels to drop.
“So when Gavin Newsom says, ‘they’re full,’ they’re not all full, but they’re going down at a rapid rate because he’s not going to stop the discharges into the ocean,” Hanson said. “They are still going on as you and I speak, and they are not pumping 100% of it to the Aqueduct, which serves agriculture in Los Angeles.”
Newsom, meanwhile, has blamed local management and ordered an independent review of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
“We need answers as to how that happened,” Newsom wrote to the department director and Los Angeles County Public Works director on Jan. 10 about reports of lost water supplies.
‘Devastating’: CALIFORNIA HAD record rainfall last year, but lacked the infrastructure to store it
In this aerial drone photo, the primary pump in the foreground is part of a groundwater recharge project designed to capture excess flow for groundwater storage in Fresno County, California, on March 13, 2023. (Andrew Innerarity/California Department of Water Resources via AP)
For his part, Newsom also proposed allocating at least $2.5 billion additional financing to strengthen California’s emergency response and recovery efforts in Los Angeles, his office announced Monday.
The proposed funding would support recovery and cleanup operations, increase wildfire preparedness and help reopen schools closed due to the fires. The funding would come from the state’s Disaster Response Emergency Operations Account, with $1.5 billion coming from accelerating the use of climate bond funds for immediate use, his office said.
There has been a slight increase in efforts to combat the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires burning in Los Angeles Countyaccording to a Wednesday evening update from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The Palisades fire, the larger of the two, at 23,713 acres that burned Wednesday, is 21% contained after igniting in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood more than a week ago, according to the department.
The Eaton Fire in the Altadena/Pasadena area was 45% contained as of Wednesday evening. Both fires broke out on January 7.
Fox News Digital has contacted Bass’ office for comment.
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Elizabeth Pritchett of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
