The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 325: Expanding Results]

Achieving the target of 300 square kilometers was no easy feat; even reaching 200 square kilometers posed challenges.

In terms of preparation, there was no room for significant changes regarding water resources or policy. It was time to push forward from another perspective.

Hawke figured he didn't need to worry about the street kids and drifters. A little bit of gossip would go a long way, and these people would automatically join the crowd, looking to grab whatever was free.

What Hawke focused on, however, was the firefighters. The female firefighters and commanders could only slow things down; they were unable to expand the results.

...

In the afternoon, Carlos' footage of the plane firefighting techniques, along with insider information that Susan later sent, sparked a new idea in Hawke's mind. He quickly began searching for more details.

Thanks to the surge in North American Chinese immigrants, he found just what he needed.

Hawke pulled out a company profile he had prepared and handed it to Brian. "This private firefighting company called Clear Water was just established in May and is still in training. They've reportedly acquired over thirty fire trucks and plan to start private firefighting services in Los Angeles. Isn't one of your people working in information liaison at the fire department? Have her pitch this company to the female leadership."

"Outsourcing is all the rage in America. Even if no one recommends it, those female directors don't understand the business and will soon think of outsourcing as an option." Hawke pointed at the company profile. "This new company looks financially robust, heavily backed by Chinese investors, with over ninety percent of its firefighters being Chinese."

Brian finally understood Hawke's intent. "Is it a problem that most of the firefighters are Chinese?"

Hawke replied, "A company outsourced to Chinese is better than many others."

Taking the document, Brian called Susan without even looking at it, and mentioned Hawke's recommendation of the private firefighting company.

...

The fire department was swamped, and Susan took advantage of a good opportunity to mention it, leading to Michelle asking her to take charge of the liaison.

That evening, after obtaining routine approval from Karen Crowley, Michelle reached an agreement with the Clear Water Company.

Under the cover of night, the wildfire, with help from strong winds, blazed into several residential areas.

...

Community boards and Los Angeles City Hall had to urgently evacuate citizens.

In the suburbs, over 98% of the homes were made of wood. The so-called fire-resistant claims by some were merely a joke.

A large number of residents had to evacuate.

As the northern winds continued to blow south, sparks appeared on many roads, resembling countless shooting stars across the sky.

In the face of this crisis, amid such a dangerous environment, a group of brave individuals rushed into the burning neighborhoods.

Driving dilapidated pickups, vans, and SUVs, they disregarded the danger as they entered the community, parking in front of vacant houses, and leaped out to grab various valuable items.

"Free stuff for all!"

"Quick, quick!" the leader urged, waving his arms at his crew. "Once we finish here, we need to hit the next one!"

Nearby, one of them dashed out of a house, clutching a small Oscar statuette, grinning as he asked, "Boss, are Oscar trophies made of gold?"

"Who cares? Just throw it in the truck!"

In another neighborhood filled with tall palm trees, flames licked at the trunks like Olympic torches. A group of individuals, unfazed by danger, dashed into the area.

Some carried televisions while others grabbed refrigerators and flashy electronics.

Similar scenes of free scavenging unfolded across many neighborhoods that were beginning to burn.

However, there were so many people scavenging that the number of burning communities fell short. The speed of the flames simply could not keep up with the pace at which they were hauling items.

Mostly, these individuals hesitated to enter homes that were fully engulfed; they were there for free goods, not to risk their lives.

By late at night, they hadn't had their fill of free scavenging, and they had run out of places to loot.

...

A group from Compton met up with another near the Santa Monica Mountains.

The previous group's leader, Valencia, spoke to the new group's leader, Wilbeck. "Did you gather much?"

"Not nearly enough," Wilbeck responded, clearly displeased. "Most of it is cheap, second-hand electronics. Not much split among us."

Valencia pinched his nose to endure the acrid smoke, saying, "I'm in a similar situation. This opportunity is too rare; we need to find a way to gather more."

Sudden winds blew Wilbeck's wig off, and he hastily grabbed it. After tossing it aside, he said, "We can't loot in non-burning neighborhoods. Those areas are affluent, and the LAPD is patrolling everywhere."

Someone shouted from the shadows, "Why don't we set fire to the untouched neighborhoods? Then they'll join in the fun!"

Valencia and Wilbeck froze, then broke into cheers. "Great idea!"

The latter raised a finger into the dark. "You're a genius!"

Valencia added, "With the winds and uncontrolled fires nearby, it's only natural for embers to travel."

Wilbeck waved his followers. "Let's go loot!"

The two groups piled into their vehicles and drove south.

...

As the winds howled down south, Valencia targeted Palisades, splitting his crew into smaller groups around the neighborhoods and igniting the parched brush.

Dozens of fire points blazed to life, quickly spreading into the community as the wind carried the flames.

The wooden houses couldn't withstand the flames, and chaos erupted in Palisades.

...

Fire trucks arrived only to find their tanks empty, and the fire hydrants similarly dry. The firefighters, prioritizing their own safety, lacked the enthusiasm of the looters.

Yet, some male firefighters "did their duty," taking luxury bags such as Hermes or LV from the owners' homes, filling them with water from everyday taps to quench the fires in the brush.

Whether they could extinguish the fire was up in the air, but they certainly made it look like they were putting it out.

...

The flames kept raging, and the community board could only inform the residents to evacuate urgently.

Just as the residents had barely left, the looters rushed in to begin their frenzy.

...

Wilbeck led his crew to the southern foothills of Santa Monica, gazing down at the affluent areas of Santa Monica.

If they were going to do something big, the looters weren't going to hold back. They selected a suitable neighborhood to ignite and started the free-for-all by dawn.

Their method spread quickly. From the sky, the northern areas of Los Angeles appeared a glowing red, while in the central zone, there were intermittent sparks.

Locations were igniting constantly.

The looters were proving that little sparks could indeed ignite a vast fire.

...

To put it frankly, Hawke and Brian hadn't done much but took advantage of the policies without leaving a trace.

The flames were purging Los Angeles.

The looters had made a significant contribution while the Chinese weren't far behind.

The Clear Water firefighting rescue company, having just been established, scored a major contract with the Los Angeles Fire Department for external support.

The company's Chinese-American CEO, Wong, dispatched over a hundred of the best employees to combat the Los Angeles fires.

By morning, the Santa Monica mountains and surrounding areas were still ablaze, with six fire trucks belonging to Clear Water battling against the fierce winds and thick smoke in Santa Monica.

After a night of chaos caused by the looters, the fire had now encroached into North Santa Monica.

Jianhong and Weihao, who were in charge of this fleet, stepped out to assess the spreading flames in the north and began strategizing.

Weihao remarked seriously, "From what I understand, there's no water in the fire hydrants or hoses. Even if there's a trickle, it's of little use to the fire. The water in our six trucks won't do much in a blaze like this."

Jianhong pointed to an open area to the north and said, "Given the current situation, we only have one option: create a firebreak."

Weihao asked, "You mean, use fire to combat fire?"

"Exactly!" Jianhong replied earnestly. "We'll use the vast stretches of low grass and shrubbery to burn a barrier."

Weihao agreed. "That could work."

...

They quickly formulated a plan, assigning the forty-some personnel accompanying them to prepare for setting fires.

Jianhong drove around to carefully select twenty ignition points. This way, any unforeseen issues could be controlled.

Then, he and Weihao distributed the tasks to their teams.

With a commanded shout, the fire started.

...

But soon, Jianhong noticed something was amiss. He had only instructed to ignite on the north side of the road, so why were flames bursting from the south side as well?

There were only twenty designated ignition points; climbing to the top of the fire truck, he scanned the area and counted at least sixty to seventy spots ablaze.

The flames on the north side were heading south, while those on the south side were equally racing southward.

The Clear Water fire trucks were caught right in the middle.

Jianhong and Weihao quickly made the decision to flee, gathering their crew as they made their escape.

...

This wasn't an isolated incident; with many Chinese employees pouring into Los Angeles to assist with firefighting, the speed at which the fires were spreading significantly accelerated.

Apart from a few Chinese private firefighting teams, most of the areas Clear Water was responsible for didn't see any fires extinguished; rather, the situation only grew worse.

Another team of twenty, tasked with burning the firebreak, ended up trapped by flames while estimating wind direction and fire points, and eventually had to be rescued by the fire department.

...

As the sun rose, the fire only blazed along the northern edges of Santa Monica.

Thanks to all the mismanagement from the Chinese crews, by ten in the morning, the wildfire had stretched into the urban area of Santa Monica.

Criticism towards the city hall and fire department surged, with Fox News and Twitter simultaneously releasing a video exposing the lack of water in Los Angeles' fire hydrants.

More homes were engulfed in flames, forcing even more residents to evacuate, with early estimates of the burned area exceeding 100 square kilometers around Los Angeles.

The northern and northwestern parts of Los Angeles were in disarray due to the flames.

The fire reached Santa Monica, prompting Hawke to hire an established professional firefighting company from Long Beach, with dozens of fire trucks stationed around the Twitter building.

Even Frank, who lived in a parking lot at Venice Beach, had temporarily moved into the company's headquarters.

*****

/Sayonara816.