Los Angeles Fires Push Crews to Limits as Critics Blame Government Policy

Some local critics have pointed to the council’s $17.6 million fire department budget cut—initially proposed at $23 million by the mayor—as a major concern.

Homes and businesses sit damaged from the Palisades Fire burning near Los Angles, Calif., on Jan. 8, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

As four massive fires engulf Los Angeles, critics are blaming the government for putting lives, homes, and businesses at risk.

Amid it all, Sam Digiovanna, chief at the Verdugo Fire Academy in Glendale, Calif., told The Epoch Times that more than 1,000 firefighters are doing their best “to stop the forward progress of this fire” and “get a containment line around it.”