The winds in Southern California have died down and the temperatures have cooled – allowing most of the 23 wildfires that blazed across the region this week to have been either put out or contained.
That’s little consolation to the residents of the nearly 2,000 homes that were destroyed. But the fact remains that, bad as it has been, the devastation could have been far worse. As could the loss of life.
This was the worst natural disaster to hit America since Hurricane Katrina – but the response was far different, and far more effective.
The reason: strong, effective leadership on the state and local levels – of the sort that was wholly lacking throughout Louisiana, and particularly in New Orleans, two years ago.
Consider the striking difference in how the evacuees of both disasters were treated. The New Orleans Superdome was a chaotic disaster area, wholly lacking in food, water and sanitary facilities. By contrast, San Diego’s Qualcomm Center had cots and tents, plenty of provisions – even yoga, meditation, massage therapy and counseling sessions for all of those seeking emergency shelter. (This is California, after all.)
Credit for all this goes largely to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger – who took charge from the first moment and whose state agencies displayed level-headed coordination and strong leadership when Californians needed it the most.
Still, that didn’t keep some politicians from trying to turn the ongoing catastrophe into a partisan opportunity.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), for example.
The fires were burning uncontrollably because too much of the state’s National Guard personnel and equipment are in Iraq, Boxer claimed.
A few facts are in order:
Though federal and state authorities are examining the role of arson in some of the fires, this is generally a natural disaster.
And, in essence, an entirely natural event.
Fire is the way forests regenerate. In Southern California, such events are usually triggered by the so-called Santa Ana winds – currents caused by high-pressure air moving over Nevada, Utah and Arizona.
Those winds normally gust up to 45 miles an hour and heat the air by 10 degrees. This week, gusts have been recorded well over 100 miles an hour, with temperatures rising 20 degrees above normal.
To be sure, the impact of nature’s fury has been further compounded by increased residential development in areas surrounded by forestland. For eons, wildfires only consumed trees and bushes; these days, homes are at risk.
Firefighting resources – or the lack thereof – are not the problem, in other words.
As Schwarzenegger noted, some 90 aircraft were involved in the effort alongside 1,000 National Guardsmen (not to mention Marines from Camp Pendleton, where fires also raged).
In addition to state resources, the feds provided Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems units – self-contained, reusable 3,000-gallon aerial-fluid-dispersal systems that attach to airplanes. They supplement existing commercial tankers that fight wildfires.
Sen. Boxer is entitled to her opinion when it comes to the war. She’s not entitled to make up facts when it comes to dealing with a natural disaster.