Hell Out West
L.A. fires nowhere near contained: So far, at least 10 people have been killed by the wildfires in and around Los Angeles. More than 35,000 acres have been consumed, and more than 10,000 structures destroyed. Wind speeds had lessened last night, only to pick up again this morning, with gusts reaching 81 miles per hour in L.A.’s northern mountains. A new fire broke out last night, named the Kenneth fire, in the West Hills. The Palisades fire and Eaton fire are at 6 percent containment and 0 percent containment, respectively, both now ranking among the top five most destructive fires in California’s history. (“Containment basically measures the fire’s potential for growth, not how much of it has been extinguished,” notes The New York Times.)
The California National Guard has been called in by Gov. Gavin Newsom, and President Joe Biden has pledged that the federal government will cover the area’s emergency response costs for the next six months. (There are only a few days left in Biden’s term, so it remains to be seen whether President-elect Donald Trump will maintain this commitment.) The Pentagon has sent in Navy helicopters to help with the firefighting.
So far, at least one man has been arrested for trying to start fires in Woodland Hills, near Calabasas, riding around on a bike using a blowtorch trying to set Christmas trees and garbage cans on fire. He seemed like he was “on something,” according to one resident who allegedly helped to detain the suspect. Los Angeles police have not confirmed that the Kenneth fire is attributable to arsonists, but the man has been taken into custody.
(“If these fires are arson, how society handles this crime and punishment will have ramifications for decades to come,” writes venture capitalist Katherine Boyle on X. “What’s scary about ‘new’ forms of violence is that the societal narrative shapes whether they repeat or not. It’s called a ‘cycle of violence’ for a reason; copycats valorize the original crime. Crimes come in waves and eras. School shootings are relatively new, whereas the age of the serial killer seems to have faded. We do not want an arson age.”)
Reports of widespread looting are also worrying residents; those whose homes survived fear that their possessions will be gone when they return. Los Angeles police have been making arrests, attempting to maintain a semblance of order amid a disaster situation. “Shame on those who are preying on our residents during this time of crisis,” said L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger at a press conference yesterday. Curfews are being implemented in the areas most affected by the fires.
The real red pill will come when people try to get permits to rebuild their homes and face multiyear waits.
This might finally spell doom for the Coastal Commission, which should not even exist as an organization. https://t.co/LNIooLoTIX
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 10, 2025
Is BlackRock destroying America’s housing markets? (No.) “Shadowy private equity giants are buying up the housing supply in communities across New York, leaving everyday homebuyers with fewer and fewer affordable options,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) yesterday as she introduced a new law aimed at making it harder for hedge funds to buy up single-family homes in the state.
Hochul’s proposing legislation doesn’t ban the practice outright, but rather forces a 75-day waiting period before such firms could place bids on homes hitting the market.
The reason why Hochul is tackling this? Well, because progressives (and other random commentators) frequently—and erroneously—like to claim that BlackRock has gobbled up so much American housing stock that normal people can no longer buy houses.
Take even the Associated Press’s write-up: “Private equity firms own more than 500,000 homes nationwide, according to the governor’s news release, with some estimates expecting the firms to own up to 40% of the single-family rental market by 2030. There were more than 145 million housing units in the country in 2023, according to U.S. Census data.” I’m sorry, what? How wou
Article from Reason.com
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