LA Fires: Natural Disaster Made Worse By Capitalism

After getting rain over the weekend, three of the main fires devastating the Los Angeles area are nearly 100% contained, meaning that firefighters have been able to create barriers around the fires. But the Palisades Fire, the Eaton fire and the Hughes fire continue to burn a combined nearly 48,000 acres of land. And to the south, just a few miles north of Tijuana Mexico, the Border 2 Fire has burned over 6,600 acres and is only 74% contained.

More than two dozen people have been killed as a result of the fires since they started in early January. Over 200,000 have been forced to evacuate, and tens of thousands of homes and businesses have been destroyed.

Rachel was in Los Angeles recently reporting on the fires, their causes, and the response of both the government and the people on the ground. While wildfires are often covered as only natural disasters and the victims of the fires are portrayed as helpless figures, the reality is much more damning for the capitalist system that refuses to take public safety, climate change and disaster recovery for working people seriously.