Will Los Angeles residents who lost everything in the fires get red pilled when they face onerous California building permit, zoning, and environmental regulations?

That’s the prediction of some on the right who say Californians will turn against progressive uni-party rule in the wake of the devastating wildfires that have so far destroyed more than 10,000 homes and killed at least 24 people. That number is expected to rise. 

City and state incompetence in managing fire risk and the water in reservoirs and hydrants is causing a political backlash. Mayor Karen Bass’s trip to Ghana, Governor Newsom’s failure to meet the moment by saying “local folks” will figure the water shortages out, and videos of city fire and water officials saying DEI is a top priority of their agencies have only compounded the feeling that Californians are fending for themselves. 

The fires are still raging. The damage is expected to reach more than $250 billion, according to AccuWeather. To those who lost their homes and all their possessions, though, the battle to rebuild is just beginning — and it isn’t going to be quick and easy.

“The guys who lost their $20 million homes on the ocean side of PCH will be knee deep in the permit process. They will be trying to pull permits when the guys in the Winnebagos will have been back for months,” comedian and podcast host Adam Carolla said, referring to the homeless who live in campers along the coast.

Mr. Newsom took action on Sunday, issuing an executive order to reduce red tape and speed up the rebuilding process. The order temporarily suspends environmental permitting and review requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act and California Coastal Act.

Mr. Newsom says he is organizing a “Marshall Plan” to rebuild “LA 2.0.” He posted to X that the order “will allow victims of the SoCal fires to not get caught up in bureaucratic red tape.” This “red tape” was sacrosanct to the left just one week ago. Yet Mr. Newsom likely realizes that those who lost their homes are not just voters but also potential donors.

“Look, California leads the nation in environmental stewardship. I’m not going to give that up,” Mr. Newsom told NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’ “But one thing I won’t give in to is delay.”

California is one of the most expensive places to build housing, in large part because of its regulations. According to the websites of several Los Angeles area developers, the permitting process in the state can take “anywhere from several months to over one year.”  

“It is sensible to allocate between 5 percent – 18 percent of the project’s total budget to acquire all the necessary permits when building a new home,” SOD Home Group says on its site.

California’s insurance commissioner issued a one-year moratorium on policy cancellations and nonrenewals for areas affected by the Los Angeles fires. Insurance companies, though, had already started cancelling policies in the area because they weren’t financially feasible due to increasing fire risk and state mandated premium caps. The number of homes covered by the state-run FAIR fund has jumped more than 100 percent since 2020, and the program approaching insolvency. This, too, will complicate the rebuild.

The outrage to ineffective governance is growing. Ten counties in California flipped red in 2024. San Francisco elected a more moderate Democratic mayor. 

California has a history of allocating funds for projects and never delivering. Remember the state’s high-speed rail project? How about the more than $3 billion the state allocates to housing and homelessness services? The number of homeless in the state keeps increasing.

“We pay the highest taxes in California. Our fire hydrants were empty. Our vegetation was overgrown, brush not cleared. Our reservoirs were emptied by our governor because tribal leaders wanted to save fish. Our fire department budget was cut by our mayor. But thank god drug addicts are getting their drug kits,” actress Sara Foster posted to X. “Your far left policies have ruined out state. And also our party.”  

Yet there are plenty of Californians who say that the fires are the result of climate change and that blaming Mr. Newsom, Ms. Bass, DEI, or other progressive policies is part of a rightwing conspiracy. Perhaps then it won’t be the fires but the aftermath — the rebuild with its red tape, onerous building codes, high costs and delays — that turns some socially liberal Californians against their government.

“So here’s what’s going to happen,” Mr. Carolla said on his podcast. “All these people who were deep blue Democrats are now going to have to pull a permit to rebuild” and get the brush off from the Coastal Commission. “And then they’re going to vote for Trump or whoever’s Trumpian next.”