Celebrity fitness trainer Jillian Michaels appeared on FOX Business Friday to criticize the state of California and local officials for their “horribly” inadequate leadership during the Los Angeles County fires.
Michaels asked how many people “need to die” for change to occur.
Wildfires raged across Los Angeles County, hitting the Southern California coastal towns of Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Pasadena. Within the first few days of the disaster, residents were quick to criticize the state’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Residents said Newsom and Bass’ leadership was inadequate and unprepared for the crisis.
On “Evening Edit,” host Elizabeth McDonald asked Michaels, who previously lived in Malibu, about her reaction to the fire. The fitness trainer explained how long it took for emergency services to respond when the fire first broke out. (Related: ‘You have failed’: LA Fire Chief calls for LAFD current chief to be thrown overboard in scathing letter)
“To be fair, I’m equally shocked, but even more outraged, and almost speechless. My reaction time wasn’t seven minutes. It was actually more like 45 minutes. “I happened to be right where the fire broke out on the Sunset and Pacific Coast Highway while visiting my mom in California and was working out on the Equinox there,” Michaels said. “I was in that gym for 30 minutes and no one showed up while the fire was burning.”
“We now know it took approximately 45 minutes for someone to arrive on scene. This is just the tip of the iceberg as we begin to unravel how badly mismanaged this was from top to bottom,” Michaels said. added.
clock:
Mr. Newsom and Mr. Bass have been under questioning since January 8th. Fire hydrants in the Pacific Palisades are running out of water and firefighter resources have been reduced as Bass cut the Los Angeles Fire Department’s (LAFD) budget by $17.6 million, according to reports. From fiscal year 2024 to 2025, according to Fox News.
Mr. Michaels went on to raise new allegations against Southern California Edison (SCE), the area’s utility company. Some Altadena residents have filed a lawsuit against SCE.
“Let’s go back in time for a moment to my fire in 2018. It was caused by a defective hook on a private utility company’s power line, PG&E,” Michaels said. “Nothing has changed since then. Gavin Newsom let them off the hook. No kidding. That equipment was over 100 years old. As it stands now, the Eden Fire was a Southern California Edison fire. The word on the street is that it’s due to outdated infrastructure. This is confusing. We’ve seen this happen year after year after year.”
“How many people have to die? How many lives have to be destroyed? People have to lose their homes and be economically devastated. It’s disgusting and unnecessary. Why cut the fire department budget? 1AB It was 2330. Check it out,” Michaels said. “That would have made forest management easier and prevented this crazy situation from happening. The list is so long. There will be enough time during the rest of your show to consider everything. I don’t think there is.”
In addition to the lack of water in the fire hydrants, it was revealed that the Santa Ynez Reservoir in the Pacific Palisades has not been operational since February 2024. According to In the Los Angeles Times. The closure of the reservoir left the region with 117 million gallons of stored water.
All content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news distribution service, is available free of charge to legitimate news publishers with large audiences. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and DCNF affiliation. If you have any questions about our guidelines or our partnership, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
