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Agence France-Presse

After being largely reduced to ashes by wildfire, Altadena was being patrolled by National Guard soldiers on Friday.
For residents of this devastated Los Angeles suburb, the arrival of these men in uniform is too little, too late.
“We didn’t see a single firefighter while we were throwing buckets of water to defend our house against the flames” on Tuesday night, said Nicholas Norman, 40.
“They were too busy over in the Palisades saving the rich and famous’s properties, and they let us common folks burn,” the teacher said.
But the fire did not discriminate.
In the upscale Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, the first to be hit by the flames this week, wealthy residents share the same resentment towards the authorities.
“Our city has completely let us down,” Nicole Perri said, outraged by the fact that hydrants being used by firefighters ran dry or lost pressure.
Her lavish Palisades home was burnt to cinders. In a state of shock, the 32-year-old stylist wants to see accountability.
“Things should have been in place that could have prevented this,” she said.
“We’ve lost everything, and I just feel zero support from our city, our horrible mayor and our governor.”


Multiple fires that continue to ravage Los Angeles have killed at least 11 people, authorities say.
Around 10,000 buildings have been destroyed, and well over 100,000 residents have been forced to evacuate.
So far authorities have largely blamed the intense 160 kph (100 mph) winds that raged earlier this week, and recent months of drought, for the disaster.
But this explanation alone falls short for many Californians, thousands of whom have lost everything.
Karen Bass, the city’s mayor, has come in for heavy criticism because she was visiting the African nation of Ghana when the fire started, despite dire weather warnings in the preceding days.
Budget cuts to the fire department, and a series of evacuation warnings erroneously sent to millions of people this week, have only stoked the anger further.
“I don’t think the officials were prepared at all,” said James Brown, a 65-year-old retired lawyer in Altadena.
“There’s going to have to be a real evaluation here, because hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people have just been completely displaced,” he said.
“It’s like you’re in a war zone.”

Mayor Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom, both Democrats, have separately called for investigations.
Republican president-elect Donald Trump has fanned the flames of controversy, blaming California’s liberal leadership and encouraging his followers to do the same.
But the highly politicised attacks by Trump – who made false claims about why fire hydrants ran dry – have also frustrated some survivors in Altadena.
“That’s textbook Trump: he’s trying to start a polemic with false information,” architect Ross Ramsey, 37, said.
“It’s too early to point fingers or blame anybody for anything,” he said, while clearing ashes from the remains of his mother’s house.
“We should be focusing on the people who are trying to pick up their lives and how to help them … Then we can point fingers and figure this all out, with real facts and real data.”


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Furious Los Angeles residents slam firefighters ‘busy’ saving homes of rich and famous

Nicole Perri looks for belongings in the ruins of her house destroyed by the fire in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of Los Angeles on January 10. Photo: AFP

Firefighters walk around a neighbourhood turning off gas valves at homes in Altadena on January 10. Photo: AFP

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Residents of a senior centre are evacuated as the Eaton fire approaches in Altadena, California, on Tuesday. Photo: AP

The devastation from the Palisades fire in California is seen from the air on Thursday. Photo: TNS

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A plume of smoke from the Palisades Fire rises over Ventura Boulevard in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles on Friday. Photo: AP

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A helicopter drops water on smoke and flames from the Palisades fire burning in Los Angeles. Photo: AFP

Smoke and flames from the Palisades fire burn in Los Angeles on January 10. Photo: AFP

Homes and businesses were reduced to rubble by the Palisades fire. Photo: AFP

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‘We didn’t see a single firefighter while we were throwing buckets of water to defend our house against the flames,’ a resident says


‘We didn’t see a single firefighter while we were throwing buckets of water to defend our house against the flames,’ a resident says.


Natural disasters

Furious Los Angeles residents slam firefighters ‘busy’ saving homes of rich and famous

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}‘We didn’t see a single firefighter while we were throwing buckets of water to defend our house against the flames,’ a resident says

‘We didn’t see a single firefighter while we were throwing buckets of water to defend our house against the flames,’ a resident says