Fires in Los Angeles: cries of terror, taste of ashes and scent of class struggle

Residents of Los Angeles named them the “Palisades Fire” or “Eaton Fire,” after the neighborhoods that went up in smoke: the megafires that broke out on Tuesday in California continue to sow terror. According to a latest report from local authorities, 16 people lost their lives in the fires, while more than 16,000 hectares and 12,000 structures were reduced to ashes. After a short lull, several fires risk resuming their infernal course at any moment.

From Anthony Hopkins to Paris Hilton via Mel Gibson, or even Laetitia Hallyday and Patrick Bruel on the French side, for five days, the media have had their eyes fixed on the stars who lost their villa in the City of Angels. “In poor neighborhoods too, everything burned. There is almost a form of indecency because the millionaires who left their home have joined another; in working-class neighborhoods, people have lost everything, they have no alternative home”recalled climatologist Françoise Vimeux in the show C in the airon France 5.

All exposed, not all equal

If Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Northwest described as upscale due to the many celebrity properties located there, less affluent populations also live there. They were not entitled to the same consideration. Further north, the hard-hit town of Altadena is populated by a strong African-American community.

This working-class neighborhood has long served as a refuge for black families fleeing systemic racism in California. “Unlike celebrity property losses in Malibu, devastation in Altadena illustrates how fires worsen inequality”underlined Black Entertainment Television (BET).

“The “people” approach to disaster makes the most vulnerable invisible, limiting itself to this is indecent. Personally, it hurts me”indignant climatologist and co-author of the IPCC Christophe Cassou on X. The scientist lived in Altadena during his predoctoral studies. “The fires, however, show that extreme wealth does not allow us to protect ourselves from fires and their impacts, which have become more severe due to climate change. Faced with the unimaginable, would we ultimately all be exposed, equal? » he questions.

All exposed, certainly. But not all equal. On “I will pay any amount”he concluded, before deleting his message. Enough to revive criticism in Los Angeles against these private firefighting services for hire. One might wonder whether or not these “VIP fire soldiers” would confine themselves to their client’s villa alone, abandoning the most modest to the throes of desolation.

“Until now, the wealth of the rich and their social status have meant that very often, they have not had to fear the consequences of global warming (…). Will what happened push them to be more militant? » asked engineer Jean-Marc Jancovici this Sunday on RTL. A necessary awareness at a time when their lifestyle, which emits high amounts of CO₂is, scientists keep telling us, one of the causes of the climate crisis.