It’s time to get honest about the wildfires that ravaged areas of Los Angeles County last week. That’s the message from retired fire marshal Jim Davidson, who served in the Valley Center Fire Protection District. “It’s easy to sort of play the blame game,” Davidson told us. “They say it’s probably the most destructive fire in LA history. It will probably, I believe, top the list of destructive fires in California history.” The Eaton Fire in the Altadena area of LA has already become the 2nd-most destructive in state history. Since the fires broke out, questions have been leveled from both political parties about the cause, the preventability, and the effectiveness of fire crews and their equipment. “What the hell happened? What happened to the water system?,” Governor Gavin Newsom asked during an interview on Meet the Press. “Was it pipes? Was it electricity? Was it a combination of pipes, electricity, and pumps? Was that drawdown impossible because you lost seven-plus thousand structures right here anyway?” “The Americans there that are affected, you know, desperately need and deserve help,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said. “But you’ve also heard us talk about our concerns with the governance of the state of California, state and local and to the extent that there is complicity involved in the scope of the disaster, then we think that’s something that needs to be carefully regarded.” Firefighters work the scene as an apartment building burns during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles county, California on January 8, 2025. While it’s natural and important to ask questions, Davidson says these wildfires were unique. “You can’t really fight that fire,” Davidson said. “The only thing you can do is try and rescue the people that are in front of it.” Davidson says even if LA had ten times the manpower, they couldn’t stop a fire of that magnitude. Davidson says he typically cringes at the word “firestorm,” but says there’s just no other word for such extreme fire behavior.  In the face of that, Davidson says there isn’t much a pump and fire hose can do. “You’re there to help with whatever you can help with,” Davidson said. “And if it’s not enough, it’s not your fault.” The retired fire marshal says the occasional homes that survived the fires were likely built within the last 10 years. He says when fires are this unforgiving, it’s updated building codes, not firefighting, that make the biggest difference.