Agony, Anarchy and Entropy in LA
October 30, 2007LA may look like a big, ‘civilized’ city, but there are tell-tale signs of ungovernability. Last month we had the fourth power outage in Encino in the last six months. Previously, transformers have blown up and cars have hit power poles; this last was because a cat (who survived!) got into the power equipment.
Southern California is wealthy and cultured, but sometimes the edges show. The fires this time (to paraphrase James Baldwin) burned 509,024 acres, destroyed 1,997 homes, injured 98 and killed 7, according to the LA Times of October 28.
“All the ingredients for disaster came together last Sunday. A massive high-pressure system moved across the western United States, and Santa Ana winds began to howl at speeds sometimes reaching hurricane force as they squeezed through the canyons and passes of Southern California. A year of record-low precipitation had created a tinderbox, and all it took was a spark from a downed power line or a careless welder to ignite blazes that were quickly blown into firestorms that spread across the regions. Before the winds died down late in the week, massive blazes had charred thousands of acres between Ventura Couny and the Mexican border.”
Eighty-foot flames roared near Ramona, and Roger and Dena Bielasz survived the Witch Fire while others died by taking shelter in their swimming pool, to emerge to a house leveled by flames–but alive.
Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times
Dena Bielasz and her husband, Roger, of Escondido, sought refuge in their pool as the fires raged through their property. Roger said to his wife after they were rescued “lets promise each other that was the worst day of our lives..it can only get better from here.”
But disaster sometimes plays as hapless comedy here as well: The huge lines of people snaking through the TSA lines at our airport, beloved LAX, were recently doused by a sprinkler failure. It sent soaked people and their wet luggage fleeing from yet another evacuated terminal. Of course, to return they had to go through security again, costing an hour and no doubt missing their flights.
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| Los Angeles International Airport |
Then there are those lost even before they hit bumper to bumper traffic–inexplicably, the 101 freeway, which basically runs east and west in LA, is labelled the North/South 101, leaving thousands befuddled.
In Annie Hall, Woody Allen said LA’s only cultural advanatage was making a right turn on red. In some parts of LA, now you can’t make a right turn on green without our hated motorcycle cops giving ticket after ticket.
Rather than find some other way to deal with protecting pedestrians, the traffic geniuses of LA decided to put up a sign, which of course drivers ‘didn’t see.’ One woman got off without a ticket because the officer gave out so many he ran out.