Somali National News Agency
So
Ar
Search
  • Home
  • Local News
    Local NewsShow More
    President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Welcomes Somalia’s Full Reclamation of Human Rights Oversight Authority
    October 8, 2025
    Federal Parliament Holds First Reading of 2024 Financial Report
    October 8, 2025
    Somalia Accelerates Jowhar Offstream Storage Programme to Boost Agriculture and Flood Resilience
    October 8, 2025
    Somalia Dismisses False Media Claims on ‘Secret Deal’ with Sweden
    October 8, 2025
    Somali Security Minister meets his Ugandan Counterpart in Kampala
    October 7, 2025
  • World News
    World NewsShow More
    Five people dead as rescue boat overturns in Pakistan floods
    September 7, 2025
    Landslide kills more than 1,000 in Sudan’s Darfur region, armed group says
    September 2, 2025
    Search for survivors still on after 800 killed in an earthquake in Afghanistan
    September 2, 2025
    An earthquake devastates eastern Afghanistan, killing more than 600 and destroying villages
    September 1, 2025
    Hamas accepts an Arab ceasefire proposal on Gaza as Palestinian death toll passes 62,000
    August 19, 2025
  • Articles
    ArticlesShow More
    The Truth About Al-Qaeda’s Al-Shabaab: A War on Somalia’s Soul
    September 29, 2025
    The Collapse of the Al-Shabaab Militants’ Defenses and Offenses sends Four Clear Messages
    September 15, 2025
    Somalia’s March Toward Fair Elections Gains Momentum with New Political Party Registrations
    September 7, 2025
    The 2025 SCO Summit in Tianjin marks a new era of cooperation and a powerful stride toward a more just and equitable multipolar world.
    September 1, 2025
    Somalia’s Oil and Gas Potential: A New Frontier for Global Energy
    August 29, 2025
  • Business
    BusinessShow More
    Somalia Unveils the Blueprint for a Modern and Sustainable Mogadishu
    December 21, 2024
    Djibouti Launches $57.4 Million Youth Entrepreneurship Project to Combat Climate Change
    November 25, 2024
    FM meets Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia
    October 28, 2024
    President Hassan Sheikh Inaugurates New LPG Storage Center in Mogadishu
    May 12, 2024
    Collaboration of ICT transformation for digital Infrastructure
    October 24, 2023
  • Sports
    SportsShow More
    Somali Ambassador to Kenya Congratulates Dekadaha FC on Historic CAF Confederation Cup Victory
    September 28, 2025
    Somalia’s Dekadaha FC faces Sudan’s Alzamala Sports Club in Nairobi
    September 20, 2025
    Mogadishu Stadium to Host Star-Studded Match Featuring Somali Legends and International Football Icons
    May 27, 2025
    Arsenal held at Brighton while Man City bounce-back continues
    January 5, 2025
    Galmudug wins the Inter-State Football Tournament
    January 29, 2024
  • Tenders
    TendersShow More
Reading: As Los Angeles burns, criticisms and questions about response arise
Share
Font ResizerAa
Somali National News AgencySomali National News Agency
  • SOMALI
  • ARABIC
Search
  • Home
  • Local News
  • World News
  • Articles
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Tenders
Follow US
©2023 || All rights reserved SONNA
Somali National News Agency > Blog > Local News > As Los Angeles burns, criticisms and questions about response arise
Local News

As Los Angeles burns, criticisms and questions about response arise

By Khadarow
Last updated: January 11, 2025
4 Min Read
Share

The speed and intensity of the blazes ravaging Los Angeles this week have put its firefighting infrastructure to the test — and given rise to questions and criticism surrounding preparedness.

Contents
Resources needed‘Risk-reward decision’

Hydrants ran dry in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood as it was ravaged by one of the region’s five separate fires, while water shortages additionally hampered efforts elsewhere.

“We need answers to how that happened,” California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote in a letter to the heads of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the Los Angeles County Public Works.

Calling the lack of water and water pressure “deeply troubling,” Newsom directed state officials to prepare an independent report on the causes.

Chris Sheach, assistant professor of disaster management at Paul Smith’s College in New York state, told AFP part of the problem is that the city’s fire-fighting infrastructure wasn’t designed for enormous multi-acre conflagrations.

“Their system is built to fight individual house fires,” he said, or for “responding to commercial or residential structure fires.”

The amount of water used for one building compared to the amount needed to squelch a fire burning across thousands of acres is quite different, he added.

Resources needed

Early firefighting efforts created four times the normal demand for water over approximately 15 hours, Janisse Quinones, CEO and chief engineer at the city’s water department, told the New York Times.

Apart from that, Los Angeles fire chief Kristin Crowley has said her city is hampered by a lack of resources.

“I have, over the past three years, been clear that the fire department needs help. We can no longer sustain where we are,” she told CNN Friday, explaining the necessity for more staff, resources and funding.

She said this included the need for 62 new fire stations amid a 55 percent increase in call volume since 2010.

US President-elect Donald Trump, who returns to the White House in just over a week, has seized upon the drama to attack Democrats, launching a series of evidence-free broadsides accusing Governor Newsom of a variety of failings.

He has even tried to blame a lack of water on environmentalists’ efforts to protect the smelt — a small fish that lives hundreds of miles away from the fires.

‘Risk-reward decision’

“The fact that we have such a low number of fatalities despite the massive property losses is a testament to the work of fire chiefs and government officials who have been timely,” Sheach, the professor, said.

The fires have so far destroyed around 10,000 buildings, California’s fire agency reported, while the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office has put the death toll at 11.

California firefighters “are some of the best firefighters in the world. They do this so often,” Sheach said, adding that they were better trained than in most other localities because “it’s their reality.”

How can a city like Los Angeles be better prepared in the future? And would it mean hiring more firefighters or increasing water supply?

“Those are decisions that politicians have to work with their community, because what’s right for each community is going to be up to how much they’re willing to pay,” Sheach said.

Decreasing risk means spending more money, he explained, calling the situation a giant “risk-reward decision.”

Source: Al Arabiya, Agencies 

Share This Article
Facebook Whatsapp Whatsapp Email Copy Link Print

MORE NEWS

Ode to Yan’an: How a Song Inspired Chinese Youth During Wartime

ArticlesCulture
August 19, 2025

Kenya’s small farmers find respite in avocados amid changing climate

NAIROBI(SONNA) As crop diseases and pests rise in Kenya amid a rapidly changing climate that…

March 11, 2023

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Welcomes Somalia’s Full Reclamation of Human Rights Oversight Authority

Mogadishu, SONNA – The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, His Excellency Hassan Sheikh…

October 8, 2025

Nimcaan Hilaac appointed to lead Waberi National Band

Mogadishu (SONNA)-Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism of the Federal Republic of Somalia, H.E. Mohamed…

March 3, 2020

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Somalia’s Director General Spearheads Initiative Against IUU Fishing at International Summit

Bangkok, Thailand - Somalia has reaffirmed its commitment to combating illegal fishing activities within its territorial waters. Mr. Abdi Diirshe,…

Local News
May 17, 2024

Ministry of Agriculture launches the Somalia Agri-Tech Expo 2024 in Mogadishu

Mogadishu, (SONNA) - The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation of the Federal Government of Somalia launched the Somalia Agri-Tech Expo…

Local News
July 16, 2024

Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs Ministry Discusses Collaborative Joint Work Opportunities with IGAD Mission Head

Mogadishu, (SONNA) – The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, H.E. Mr. Hamza Adan Haadoow,…

Local News
March 3, 2025

Somali National Army kills more than 50 Al-Shabaab militants in the Lower Juba areas

Somali National Army with the support of Jubaland State forces killed more than 50 terrorist militant members of Al-Shabaab and…

Local News
March 5, 2024

Somali National News Agency established in 1964. It is one of the main pillars of the Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism.

  • Home
  • Local News
  • World News
  • Articles
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Tenders
  • SNTV
  • RADIO MOGADISHU
  • DALKA JOURNAL
  • TOURISM DEPARTMENT

Follow US: 

  • MoICT
  • VILLA SOMALIA
  • OPM SOMALIA

All rights reserved SONNA

©2023

Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?