(NewsNation) — No amount of water and no number of firefighters on the ground could have stopped the blazes raging in the Los Angeles area from spreading, the head of FEMA’s U.S. Fire Administration told “The Hill on NewsNation.”
“What we have to understand is that with every resource brought to bear on this particular fire … no one was getting in front of this fire,” Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell said. “The fuel load on this fire, the wind speeds and the variables at play were astronomical. These extreme conditions (were) like a blowtorch.”
Federal and state officials, including California Governor Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass, have been criticized for water shortages and budget cuts that some say compromised firefighters’ ability to prepare for and battle the blazes.
In a memo just last month, LA Fire Department Fire Chief Kristin Crowley argued that cuts to her budget “severely limited the Department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires,” per NewsNation’s Rich McHugh.
As of Friday afternoon, the fires in the LA area have burned over 37,000 acres, destroyed 10,000 properties and left 10 dead.
