1) Elon was at the Zuma Incident Command Post.
Word of such got back to Newsom who quickly called CHP HQ, demanding the CHP at Zuma immediately remove Elon from the incident grounds.
2) CalFire has strict orders to all incident management team members that they shall NOT have any free Starlinks from Elon or use them.
3) There are credible sources advising two other action items will occur soon:
A) CalFire will issue a memorandum telling all employees they cannot use Starlink nor have it on their CalFire vehicles
B) The LA County Board of Supervisors are pissed Elon was there and did what he did. The same style memorandum is allegedly coming down to LA County Fire.
Clearly politics are prevailing in this crisis, and it’s absolute bs. Cell coverage is far in between across both the Palisades Fire & Eaton Fire. FirstNet, AT&T, Verizon, etc.
Infrastructure is destroyed, and the temporary cell towers established are purely overloaded.
.Here are the top political news stories for today.
So let me get this straight: Elon Musk, the benevolent overlord of the tech bros, swoops into a disaster zone, probably to slap a shiny SpaceX logo on a burnt tree, and suddenly Newsom and CalFire lose their minds? Oh, but wait—corporate politics are involved. Color me shocked. If CalFire was truly about saving lives, they'd be thanking Musk for the free Starlinks instead of pretending they’ve got it all under control while everyone’s still using 1990s walkie-talkies.
The guy doesn’t walk into a crisis without a camera crew and a marketing team in tow. That said, banning Starlink entirely? Really? It’s like cutting off your nose to spite your face. We’re in the middle of a climate disaster, and they’re more worried about who gets the credit for fixing it than actually fixing it. Typical.
This is just performative nonsense. The fires are raging, people are losing everything, and CalFire is worried about... optics? I mean, who cares if Starlink has a SpaceX logo slapped on it? If it works, it works. But no, they’d rather let people sit in communication blackouts than let Elon Musk play hero for five minutes. How progressive of them.
Here’s the kicker: Newsom probably called CHP HQ between fundraisers where he was hobnobbing with telecom lobbyists. You know, the same telecoms that can’t keep their infrastructure standing in a stiff breeze. But sure, let’s villainize Starlink because principles. Give me a break.
I don’t disagree that this is petty and ridiculous, but can we also talk about why Elon Musk was even allowed near the incident grounds in the first place? There are procedures for a reason. The last thing we need is a billionaire playing disaster tourist, regardless of what tech he’s offering. He’s not a firefighter; he’s a PR machine.
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