As five people are dead and 179,000 others evacuate, conservatives are using the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles to score political points.
While scientists cite an unusually dry winter combined with strong winds as the fuel behind the rapid spread of the fires, right-wing figures are instead blaming Kristin Crowley, the city's fire chief who happens to be a lesbian, or Democratic officials in an area that has the largest Republican county party in the country.
Related:Evacuating from the Los Angeles fires? Here are some resources to help
Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly claimed, without evidence, that "in recent years LA's fire chief has made not filling the fire hydrants top priority, but diversity," pointing to a past interview with Crowley where the chief said she hoped to see more women and LGBTQ+ people in the fire department.
"Diversity is at least among the top priorities for the Department. Who gives a shit if the fire chief is gay? I'm sorry, but who gives a flying fig about who she likes to sleep with?" Kelly said on a recent episode of her SiriusXM show. "Can you fight the fucking fires, madam? That's the relevant question. We don't care about your lady parts and we don't care who you want having access to them. Can you fight fires, can you make sure there's water in the fire hydrants? I don't care who turns you on."
Kelly also scoffed at the idea of women firefighters, saying — again, without evidence — that the majority of women are too weak to meet the requirements.
"You know why they have only a hundred women in a in a squad of 3,300," Kelly continued. "Women tend to be small smaller and not as strong and unless you lower the requirements to become a firefighter most women can't pass the test trust me."
Meanwhile, CNN's Scott Jennings also baselessly cited diversity, equity, and inclusion practices as the reason the fires have not been able to be contained, pointing to a 2023 report about a training program aimed at diversifying the state's fire departments, which are comprised mostly of white men.
“There was some interest in the fire departments and the firefighters in California. And the interest was that there were too many white men who were firefighters," Jennings said on a recent segment of Newsnight with Abby Phillip. "And we need to have a program in California to make sure we don’t have enough white men as firefighters. We have DEI, we have budget cuts, and yet I’m wondering now if your house was burning down, how much do you care what color the firefighters are?”
Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who was on the panel with Jennings, quickly shut him down, criticizing his argument for implying that people of color, women, and LGBTQ+ aren't qualified for certain roles.
“We are looking at qualifications. What diversity, equity, and inclusion has always been about is saying, ‘You know what, open this up. Don’t just look at the white men. Open it up and recognize that other people can be qualified,'" Crockett explained. "If we have been good enough to build this country, we are good enough to serve and die overseas, we are good enough to serve in other ways."
"The fact is, stop trying to act as if only white men are the ones that are capable because right now, you’re sitting at a table with three very capable black women," she said.
