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Podcast: News For Reasonable People
Episode: Firefighters Could Have Prevented L.A. Wildfires, but California Rules Made Them Save Plants Instead
Description: California's environmental policies literally chose endangered plants over human lives—and 12 people paid the ultimate price. Firefighters watched a containable 8-acre brush fire smolder for a week in Topanga State Park, but state officials ordered them to leave the area to protect the Braunton's Milkvetch (yes, a purple flower) and potential Native American artifacts. Despite extreme fire warnings and 80 mph winds approaching, the burn scar sat unmonitored because "avoidance areas" banned heavy equipment and mop-up operations without an archaeologist present. The result? The Palisades Fire exploded into LA's worst urban wildfire catastrophe—23,000 acres burned, 6,800 structures destroyed, and billions in dama...