A new survey released Wednesday shows that Los Angeles wildfires have made extraordinary financial and emotional tolls on millions of Southern California people, far exceeding the burning community.
More than 40% of the adults surveyed said they knew who were affected by the wildfire that began on January 7th. And about a third of respondents said they wore masks to protect themselves from the dangers of smoke.
The study highlighted the extent to which the fire transcended Southern California's vastness by the Ruskin School of Public Relations at the University of California, Los Angeles.
With around 9.7 million residents, Los Angeles County is the most populous in the country, growing over 4,000 square miles, including about a quarter of the population of 88 cities and states. Two major fires in January – Pacific Palisades on the Pacific coast and at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains, in the east, Altadena, were more than 34 miles away.
But the threat of disaster seemed to spread throughout the county as Hurricane Force winds erupted Inferno one after another, claiming 30 lives and destroying thousands of buildings. The survey says that, even in relatively unharmed locations, such as the suburbs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and the northern part of the county, and even more than 20 miles from the fire, about a quarter of respondents say they know people who have lost their homes or businesses.
“In the past, wildfires here have been compartmentalized,” said Zev Yaroslavsky, a former Los Angeles city councilman and county supervisor who directs the Ruskin School's Los Angeles initiative that conducted the investigation.
“But this time, the fire was a problem for everyone,” he continued. “Everyone was making a bet on it. Everyone was threatened several times. It was a community-wide disaster like an earthquake.
The fire also poses a political challenge, especially for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, the polls showed.
Basu, who was in Ghana on behalf of the Biden administration when the fire broke out, was one of the most popular and most popular Democrats in 2022 when she was elected. A former community organizer, lawmaker and member of Congress, BASS MS. BASS is black, has deep roots in the black community in Los Angeles, and received widespread liberal support beyond demographics.
However, the investigation showed that her popularity plummeted after the wildfire. Last year, only 32% expressed disadvantaged views as 42% of survey respondents looked at her positively. This year, only 37% of people saw her in favor, with almost half of them at the disadvantage.
Research shows that support among black residents remains solid, but it has slipped significantly among other demographics, particularly among white residents. Other Los Angeles leaders, including members of the county board of supervisors, have not experienced such a slide in popularity since last year.
This study has been conducted for the past decade to measure satisfaction with quality of life in Los Angeles County. This year's poll, which was held among 1,400 adult residents in late February and early March, was the latest poll that reflected the shaking mood among Californians following the wildfire.
In a previous poll co-hosted by the Los Angeles Times and conducted in February by the UC Berkeley government research institute, nearly a quarter of the county's residents urged them to consider moving from Southern California, but only 9% of people think that's seriously.
In the Ruskin survey, almost nine respondents of 10 thought homeless people in communities such as Pacific Palisard and Altadena should be allowed to rebuild in the same location. And as a cost of living, the respondents' biggest concern, a slim majority supported some kind of tax increase to fund improving county wildfire preparations.
“This will hurt the spirit of Los Angeles for a long time,” Jaroslavski said. “I think people are going to mark their lives by doing that. There's “before the fire” and “after the fire.” ”
