Rick Caruso, the billionaire developer who ran for Los Angeles mayor in 2022, managed to protect his Palisades Village mall from the Palisades Fire — as well as some other local businesses — but the homes nearby were destroyed.
On a walk through the mall, it is almost as though no fire ever took place. The only signs of damage are a few overturned and shattered heat lamps from an outdoor restaurant. Fashionable stores look almost ready to reopen.
Caruso is not alone: Breitbart News was told by a fire official that there are “about fifteen” roving private firefighting companies in Pacific Palisades, most of them hired by insurance companies to protect the property of their clients.
Breitbart News spoke to firefighters on the scene from Firestorm Wildland Fire Suppression, Inc., who would not comment publicly. The company had not responded to comment by the time of publication.
Breitbart News witnessed a small water tanker truck patrolling the Upper Riviera neighborhood on Monday. A security contractor told Breitbart News that in addition to protecting homes from looting, his company also provides fire suppression services.
Most of the small firefighting companies use water tanks mounted on flatbeds. Caruso’s firefighters used larger tanker trucks of water. His mall’s buildings were also apparently constructed out of newer, fire-resistant building materials.
Caruso’s role has not been without controversy. While some residents hail his success as an example of what the City of Los Angeles should have done to protect residents’ property, others feel the water should have been shared more widely.
Most of the businesses opposite the Palisades Village on Swarthmore Avenue actually survived, and Breitbart News was told, anecdotally, that they benefited from the private firefighters’ presence. However, one business — Paliskates, a popular skate shop — burned to the ground, and another store, Serena & Lily, suffered evident fire damage.
Local firefighters have told Breitbart News that they could have protected nearby property just as well as Caruso had protected his if they had been given adequate resources — especially personnel and water — by the city and other local agencies.
Caruso donated $5 million to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation earlier this week.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
