Dozens of fire trucks, crucial for battling the intense wildfires ravaging areas like Altadena, Pacific Palisades, and Malibu, were spotted sitting idle in a city repair facility located in downtown Los Angeles, as shown in photographs obtained by The NY Post.

The firefighting vehicles, essential for emergency response, remained parked at the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Bureau of Supply and Maintenance on Wednesday, awaiting repairs.

Debate over these inactive trucks has grown, especially in light of recent news about the LAFD budget being reduced by $17 million under Mayor Karen Bass’s administration.

“We have over 100 fire apparatus out of service,” admitted Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley in a CNN interview, as wildfires continued to rage, forcing more than 100,000 residents to flee their homes.

“Having these apparatus, and the proper amount of mechanics, would have helped,” Crowley said.

When questioned about the out-of-service trucks, the repair facility’s office manager declined to provide any comment to The Post.

Concerns over inadequate resources are not new. In May, LAFD Capt. Freddy Escobar, who also serves as president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles union, highlighted severe funding shortages within the department.

“We don’t have enough firefighters and medics, we don’t have enough fire engines, we don’t have enough trucks and ambulances in the field,” Escobar said during a budget hearing. “And we don’t have the equipment and staffing we need to respond to half a million emergency calls for service every year.”

Just last month, Escobar painted an alarming picture of the department’s understaffing during a commission meeting, telling city officials the situation was “dire” and warning, “someone will die.”

Currently, LAFD operates with around 3,500 firefighters serving a population of nearly four million. This equates to fewer than one firefighter per 1,000 residents—a ratio significantly lower than other major cities, which typically employ closer to two firefighters per 1,000 residents. A CNN analysis revealed Los Angeles has fewer staff than any of the other 10 largest cities in the United States.

“We are on the frontlines of this homeless crisis,” Escobar said.

“Fifty percent of the fires we respond to come from our homeless population. And the city reportedly spends $1.3 billion each year on homeless programs, but the LAFD is scheduled to receive a cut? This makes absolutely no sense.”

In a striking incident this week, a homeless man armed with a blowtorch was subdued by bystanders as he attempted to combat the fires himself. Meanwhile, reports of arsonists active across the city have added another layer of urgency.

During a May commission meeting, City Council member Traci Park, a Democrat, expressed grave concerns about the fire department’s overstretched resources, particularly as wildfire season approached.

At that meeting, officials revealed that 86 emergency vehicles were out of service in Los Angeles due to insufficient funds to hire sheet metal workers and mechanics to repair them.

The sidelined vehicles included 40 fire engines—used for transporting water to extinguish fires—along with 36 ambulances and 10 fire trucks, which carry essential rescue tools such as ladders and other equipment.

“It just makes no sense to have million dollar fire trucks and engines taken out of service and sidelined because we don’t have enough mechanics to keep them running,” testified Captain Chuong Ho during the budget discussions.

To combat the massive wildfires engulfing the region, more than 7,500 firefighters and emergency personnel from across California have been deployed, with reinforcements arriving from neighboring states and as far away as Utah and Colorado.

As of Wednesday, the fires in Los Angeles have claimed at least 25 lives, and officials have cautioned that this number is likely to increase.

The largest blaze, the Palisades Fire, ignited on January 7 and has already scorched over 23,000 acres. The Eaton Fire, another major inferno, has destroyed more than 14,000 acres.

In total, more than 12,000 structures have been reduced to ash as firefighters continue their relentless battle to control the devastating wildfires threatening Los Angeles.

{Matzav.com}