"**The Harsh Reality of California's Wildfires: A Tale of Public Failure and Private Success**
The recent wildfires that ravaged California left my community in ruins, delivering a clear and grim lesson: private services work, while public services falter.
In Pacific Palisades, where I live, my home stands alone at the corner amid rubble and devastation. Streets once filled with evening strolls are now post-apocalyptic pathways. The cherished neighborhood landmarks and family homes have been reduced to ashes.
A striking contrast lies just across the street. The Palisades Village mall, owned by billionaire Rick Caruso, remains unscathed. Built with fire-resistant materials and guarded by private firefighters, its lights are still on, ready for business. Unlike us, Caruso knew the city's system would fail and took private precautions.
He wasn’t the only one. Private firefighting companies and even security firms played pivotal roles in saving properties, defying evacuation orders to douse homes and gardens through the night. Meanwhile, public efforts, while well-meaning, were inadequate in the face of the disaster.
Reports have confirmed the effectiveness of private firefighting measures. They may be expensive, but they work — a reality Rick Caruso tried to share when he ran for mayor in 2022. Voters rejected him, a decision now marked by regret.
Luck, nature, and neighborly heroism helped spare my home. Still, I became a de facto local reporter, documenting the damage, providing photos and videos to those barred from their properties for emotional closure and insurance claims. It has been a painful, haunting experience.
Amid the devastation, glimmers of hope persist — a serene Buddha statue buried in ash, a school’s surviving tile mosaic of a seagull. Yet, my son, one of only two children in his class with a standing home, does not fully grasp the long-term loss. His friends are scattered, and his childhood in this community may soon be a memory.
This growing reliance on private over public services is a hallmark of a failing state. My friend in South Africa, where public infrastructure has collapsed, survives thanks to his private generator, security, and water supply. Here, we are walking a similar path, evident in education and public safety.
The Black Lives Matter riots and a deliberate weakening of law enforcement eroded trust in public institutions. Now, wildfires have exposed the harsh truth: when disaster strikes, the system fails those it’s meant to protect.
I still have hope for Pacific Palisades, but attending a recent town hall filled with self-congratulatory city and county officials left me disheartened. No one took responsibility, though the county fire chief offered an apology.
In a world where private solutions reign supreme, survival depends on personal resources, not public trust. It’s a sobering, dystopian reality for what was once the Golden State."