LOS ANGELES, CA, January 12 – As of this writing, multiple fires have been raging across Los Angeles for the last six days, consuming over 37,000 acres with the two largest and most destructive (the Palisades and Eaton fires) only 11 percent and 15 percent contained, respectively. This is a slight improvement as two days ago they were zero percent contained! Aided by capitalism-created climate change and the near-hurricane speed Santa Ana winds, “It may be the fire equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane,” said a wildfire expert (L.A. Times, 1/11). These fires have displaced over 150,000 people from their homes and killed at least 24 people with others missing. The death toll is likely to climb as searches through the rubble of thousands of destroyed structures begin.
Climate crises like these will only become more frequent and intense as long as capitalism continues to exist. While the liberal capitalist rulers scramble to put out fires—both literal and metaphorical—caused by their disastrous system, they sacrifice and abandon us. As always, it is our class that steps up to provide rescue and much-needed relief, demonstrating that we are the only ones truly capable and fit to run society..
Under a communist world, led by the Progressive Labor Party, natural disasters would still happen, but with less intensity and frequency; workers would also be much better equipped to deal with the damages. Plans for evacuation will save the lives of elderly and disabled workers and rebuilding will be a collective effort informed by science and environmental safety not capitalist profits and greed.
Bosses’ climate disaster deadly for workers
“Already today, Los Angeles is roughly 3°C warmer than pre-industrial levels—double the global average warming—increasing the risk of hot and dry conditions conducive to wildfires” (CFR, 1/9). The combination of capitalism caused climate change, hyper wet seasons leading to mudslides, then expansive growth of brush followed by back-to-back years of record heat and dryness (summer of 2024 is hottest on record) led to a vicious cycle in L.A. This is then combined with the high intensity Santa Ana winds (a natural event) mixed with the climate change components and these firestorms are the result (NBC4, Los Angeles, 1/10).
The destruction has been described like war zones, as apocalyptic, and compared alongside other “natural” disasters like the 1994 Northridge Earthquake and also the aftermath of the 1992 uprisings stoked by the fury of Black and Latin workers following the acquittal of the racist kkkops that beat Rodney King. “It looks like Berlin — or it looks like some part of World War II. Everything is burned down. It is a level of loss a Los Angeles community has not endured in recent memory — if ever — despite earthquakes, fires, floods and civil unrest” (L.A. Times, 1/10).
Although the primary areas directly impacted by the flames are the mainly affluent neighborhoods of the Pacific Palisades and Altadena, the working class of Los Angeles will not be spared. Within hours of the fires taking out the wealthy neighborhoods, the winds carried the ashes and polluted air nearly 50 miles from the burn site to areas covering Black and Latin neighborhoods. The smoke contains synthetic materials that can be much more hazardous than those from burning trees or grass (SF Chronicle, 1/9). Additionally, due to the disproportionately high levels of pollution in working class neighborhoods, including exposure to diesel particulate matter at levels twice as high as those in non-working-class neighborhoods, the addition of wildfire smoke exacerbates preexisting conditions compounding the health risks faced by these communities (UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute).
Working class can only rely on itself
Our Party, friends and base are involved in mass organizations and looking for ways to support. Ironically, some of the same mutual aid groups that were being attacked by the state during the post-George Floyd uprisings and campus occupations in response to the genocide in Gaza, are being called upon for support. The state now has empty water reservoirs, empty or low water pressure hydrants, but instead of organizing all out support is unleashing racist kkkops and National Guard troops on communities out fears of “looting.”
Bosses use their own climate created crises as an excuse for fascism. Former Long Beach chief of police, who defended the kkkop that murdered Cesar Rodriguez by throwing him in front of a moving train on a Metro platform in 2017, is now the top Sheriff for L.A. County. On Thursday he announced a mandatory curfew from 6 pm to 6 am and “requested support from the California National Guard to assist with traffic control, infrastructure protection and looting deterrence for both the Eaton and Palisades fires” (L.A. Times 1/9).
Democratic Party politicians have prioritized funding the racist police state over building the necessary infrastructure to fight wildfires, let alone prevent them from stopping the production of fossil fuels in the state. California boasts one of the largest prison systems and Los Angeles County has the largest jail system in the world. The murderous county sheriffs enjoy a ballooning multibillion-dollar budget and their LAPD counterparts consume more than half the entire city budget. Yet, the fire department recently faced cuts of 2 percent, or nearly $18 million (ABC News, 1/11).
Racist slave labor forced to fight blazes
These budget cuts have led to a continued reliance on slave labor to put out fires. Our class siblings behind bars, are risking their lives fighting the very fires created by this racist, sexist, capitalist system as nearly “1,000 incarcerated men and women have joined the frontlines in a battle against record-breaking wildfires burning across southern California” (BBC, 1/10.) Additionally, essential water reservoirs were left empty and quickly fire hydrants became empty or with low pressure for firefighters struggling to put out the fires. A water policy expert from Arizona said, “In the L.A. area, it would have been very expensive to develop additional storage adequate to mitigate or even fight the wildfires in these higher-elevation pressure zones, but right now I’d imagine most people in L.A. would say it would’ve been worth the cost.”
Capitalism can never solve climate change. Bosses are driven to prioritize profits over people for their survival. So as long as we allow this system to exist, we are signing the death sentence of our class and our planet. Take this article as an urgent call! We need all workers to join Progressive Labor Party so that we can destroy the global system that is murdering our planet. Only under communism will we see an improvement in the health of our earth. Then we can make decisions in the best interest of our class. Smash climate change and the resulting disasters with communist revolution!
