There'll be time for the blame game later, but the aftermath of this is going to be fascinating to watch.
Besides the problems with insurance, there are already lots of horror stories about the 500 different city and state agencies in Los Angeles and California who are notorious for delaying and denying construction permits, or making it insanely expensive because of onerous regulations.
At the same time, there are an equal number of groups for which destroying large swaths of a major city like L.A. is a wet dream, because it will allow them to rebuild it in their own vision — little or no car access, more high-rises and fewer single-family homes, totally green energy sources, environmental protections, etc. And those groups have both the ear and in many cases the reins of city and state government. This is a once in a century opportunity for them to wipe the board clean of every single obstacle that's been in their way for decades. I doubt they let it pash without trying to make their vision a reality.
Some of those new ideas might not be bad. Fixing California's ancient electric transmission towers and power grid alone could probably stop half of these fires from happening. But they're also going to run head-on into people's desire to quickly rebuild. I heard someone say it often takes several years to get a building permit. How long is it going to take for someone to get one when 100,000 other people are flooding the office with applications?
Karen Bash said she'll try to cut red tape, which ought to be a laugh line in a state that produces it as a leading industry, but what about the state-level stuff like environmental studies? You think the people who live on the beach in Malibu are going to have their expensive new homes rubber-stamped? Or will the California Coastal Commission (among others) find a reason to put the kibosh on it indefinitely?
Basically, rebuilding is not going to be as easy as getting insurance money and finding someone to build a new house. A lot of people might not do it. I'm sure plenty of property owners who were already growing disenchanted or don't want to go through the hashle will be bought out and leave the city or the state. Others who do rebuild — including more than a few who are very rich and politically connected — are about to be smacked around by the monster that is government bureaucracy. How do they respond?
There's a lot of anger toward the mayor and governor now, but will it last until they face re-election in a couple of years?
Lots of stuff to watch down the road. That can wait a few weeks at least, though, until the flames are out.
