By Mary O’KEEFE

A disaster like the fires in Southern California can bring out the best – and worst – in humanity. The best, which is something I think we should be focusing on, includes all of those who have donated time, effort and supplies to help the victims. There are centers that have been so overwhelmed by donations they had to ask people to stop bringing in items while they sift through what has already been brought in and get those to people in need. 

It was amazing to see how many people opened their homes to those who were displaced. A friend of ours, Justin Hager, who is now a reporter with the Las Vegas Weekly, traveled from Las Vegas to help his friend who lost his home in Altadena. The friend was out of the area when the fire began; luckily he was able to call someone who went to his home and rescued his cats. Then the fire hit his neighborhood and he lost everything. 

The friend has such an amazing attitude. He lost everything and yet he said he felt lucky someone was able to get his cats out. He also said it was “maybe a good thing” that he wasn’t home and couldn’t pack a to go bag because he didn’t have to decide to rescue his grandma’s china or his other grandma’s jewelry. He just lost everything. 

I am hearing this more and more from those who have been displaced and either lost everything or are in limbo as to what to do to rebuild what is left of their house. They speak of being grateful that they, and their loved ones, are safe. They know their journey ahead is difficult but seem to have this amazing inner strength they are drawing from. 

There are so many people who are ready to volunteer and to help. Firefighters from around the nation and beyond have come to help. Everyone is working together to help fight the fires; search and rescue teams along with other law enforcement are working to find those who have been reported missing; and so many organizations are working to help those who need support. 

And then there are those on social media who just can’t stop throwing shade and are so cruel to anyone who chose to live in California. There have been posts that have said “Let California burn;” there are posts that blame everyone from elected officials – spin the wheel, everyone has been criticized – to fire engines not being able to enter the state due to emission standards. 

One of the claims on social media is that Gov. Newsom refused to sign the water restoration declaration that would have made millions of gallons of water available. This is not true. Firefighters did have some problems with water supply but not because of the absence of water reserves in the state. 

Erik Scott, public information officer of the Los Angeles Fire Dept., answered the misinformation on X:

“Due to multiple questions on the topic … We did experience some challenges with water pressure while battling the Pacific Palisades Fire. LADWP proactively filled all available water storage tanks, including three one-million gallon tanks located in the Palisades area. However, water availability was impacted at higher elevations, which affected some fire hydrants due to limited replenishment of water tanks in those areas. The extreme demand caused a slower refill rate for these tanks, which created a challenge for our firefighting effort.”

And then there were the posts that state Oregon fire engines were turned away because of emissions regulations. This too is false. The trucks did go through routine safety checks. 

According to Cal Fire, “No vehicles from out of state have been turned around or refused.” Cal Fire continues to explain these trucks were subject to routine inspection.

Oregon State Fire Marshal also addressed this misinformation. 

“We want to clear up confusion about our Oregon firefighters and equipment sent to California to help with wildfires. There is misinformation spreading on social media and from some news outlets claiming our equipment had to pass emissions tests and our equipment and firefighters were turned away or delayed. To be clear: This is false.” 

The statement goes on to explain that the trucks went through a routine safety check with Cal Fire to make sure the engines were mechanically sound. This was done because the engines do not normally travel hundreds of miles at a time. 

“No engine was turned away. They all completed the safety check and all 15 strike teams arrived in Southern California …” 

It is absolutely insane that firefighter representatives must now take time to deal with a constant barrage of lies being spread about them as they try to save lives and property. 

I have read and studied WWII and know that misinformation was used as a weapon against the American people … and in some cases it worked – and that was well before social media became a thing. Misinformation, scare tactics, getting people angry, pushing emotional buttons are weapons that are more deadly than anything else. Keeping people angry, keeping people scared – that is the goal of those who promote misinformation.

Please verify with a trusted source anything you see online. One really good reliable source is Watch Duty. It is a service, not an app, and is powered by over 150 volunteers, firefighters, dispatchers and first responders who diligently monitor 24 hours a day radio scanners and other official sources, according to watchduty.org. 

There will be questions in the future on how the fires were fought, what precautions could have been made and how elected officials responded but those will be investigated with evidence presented and discussed.

For our weather, first off there is no prediction of rain in the near future though there are more winds expected. 

Friday through Saturday we will be seeing some recovery humidity, which means the humidity levels will rise … a little. We should not see any winds until Monday and Tuesday of next week. There is a 50% to 60% chance of seeing moderate Santa Ana winds, and 10% of strong winds. There is also a 70% chance that Monday and Tuesday will have a Red Flag Warning issued throughout “wind prone” areas, according to NOAA.