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The CBS report from Jonathan Vigliotti cuts through the usual talking points: the recent Los Angeles fires were not just nature’s revenge or climate change alone. Vigliotti calls them “a different kind of manmade disaster” and points to a clear failure of planning and response. Mayor Karen Bass’s quick turn to blaming climate and wind doesn’t answer why firefighters and police were thin on the ground when the worst-case forecasts were staring everyone in the face.
Don’t Blame Weather Alone
Yes, climate change makes wildfires worse. That’s true and boring to argue about. But blaming storms and moving on is the easy play for politicians who don’t want to explain why people were left to hose down their homes with garden hoses. Vigliotti noted weather warnings that escalated for more than a week and forecasts calling for 100 mph gusts. If that’s not a red-alert, then what is?
A Failure of Imagination and Response
Vigliotti’s eyewitness reporting — a resident frantically asking “Where are firefighters?” while traffic clogged a main artery — is a damning detail. Fire experts told him that while some homes were lost, there was no excuse for entire zip codes to be erased. That’s not a natural disaster line; that’s an operational failure line. Leaders who tell people to rush back to rebuild without explaining how they will make communities safer are not leading. They’re handing out talking points.
Practical Fixes, Not Political Sermons
We need common-sense steps: stage resources where the risk is highest, run clear evacuation plans so people aren’t stuck on Sunset Boulevard, enforce building standards that resist flames, and manage brush in sensible ways. Saying “it’s the climate” without a plan is like blaming the stove while the house burns. If Mayor Karen Bass wants to urge rebuilding, she should first show how rebuilding will actually reduce risk.
Vigliotti’s book and reporting deserve attention because they demand accountability. Conservatives aren’t denying climate science; we’re asking for competence. The moment has passed for platitudes. We need firefighters where they’re needed, plans that work, and leaders willing to be judged on results — not on how fast they can point a finger at the weather.
