The California congresswoman surprised the CNN host with a video about the fires in LA
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., suggested to a surprised CNN host on Tuesday that local governments intentionally allowed homes in Los Angeles Altadena neighborhood which have been ravaged by forest fires in recent weeks.
“We need to find the facts – a full investigation into what went wrong. I and the CBC, the Congressional Black Caucus, for example, are curious about who decided to victimize Altadena, a historically black community in the LA County area,” Sara Sidner told CNN.
“There is no reason why only 2/5 of the people whose homes burned were insured and why businesses are leaving California in droves, like other disaster-prone states,” the lawmaker, who represents the 37th congressional district based in LA County, added.
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Democratic Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove proposed that insurance companies cut policies on the Altadena, Los Angeles home ahead of the fire because of a racial agenda. (Screenshot/CNN)
State farmfor example, it canceled more than 72,000 home and condo policies in the months before the devastating one forest fires in LA it began, leaving thousands of residents confused and desperate after losing their homes.
Los Angeles Fire Insurance Expert Richard Giller told Fox News Channel recently that state policy is to blame for these canceled policies, as lawmakers have refused to allow insurance companies to raise premium costs for residents in the wake of increasingly devastating wildfires.
As a result, insurance companies wrote fewer claims, canceled claims, or even left California altogether. “So the insurance companies tried to get approval to raise rates, and the California Department of Insurance and the insurance commissioner decided, you know, they didn’t want homeowners to pay more money. . . . It all came to a head with seven of the 12 largest insurance companies that are pulling out of the state,” Giller told FNC.
Seemingly taken aback by the lawmaker’s claims, Sidner asked, “Congresswoman, did you just say sacrifice Altadena? I mean, are you suggesting that this was done in some way on purpose to hurt Altadena? There are a lot of conspiracies.”
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A helicopter drops water on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Ethan Swope/AP)
The representative clarified that she was not suggesting that anyone committed the arson, but she did mention other decisions made before the fire that she found suspicious.
“But what we do know is that the power is out in Altadena. What we do know is that residents were not given enough time to evacuate their homes,” she said, noting that some people she spoke to said they were not given enough warning ahead of time to would return home and save the lives of their own pets.
Sidner tried to explain why the power was shut off, saying officials told the news network they were “concerned it would create a greater fire hazard.”
“And that’s why the pumps didn’t work to get water into hydrants“, added the presenter.
The congresswoman confirmed the answer and responded by citing the need for local lawmakers to see the rebuilding of these fire-ravaged areas through a “view of justice.”
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