Lorenzo Lamas condemned California bureaucracy for failing to have a plan of action before the Palisades Fire tore through his hometown.
Lamas, 66, who was born in Santa Monica and raised in the Pacific Palisades, claimed the Los Angeles fires could have possibly been avoided by better disaster preparation methods.
The “Falcon Crest” actor was angered by the loss of life due to the fires and questioned how so many things could go so wrong.
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“The fires have been absolutely devastating. My four daughters are in Los Angeles, and they’re all safe,” Lamas exclusively told Fox News Digital from his home in Idaho as he recovers from hip surgery. “I have friends that have lost everything. You know, Vernon Wells from ‘Mad Max,’ him and his wife, Grace, were in the Palisades – lost everything.”
“It angers me so much because I see this as something that could have been avoided.”
Lamas added, “I’ll go out there on a limb and tell you that if this happened a year from now … We’d have a different probably set of circumstances. At least, I think Los Angeles would have been a little bit better prepared a year from now than we are now. And I’m talking about, you know, from an administrative level.”
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Lamas, like many local residents, watched news broadcasts during the disaster to see if his childhood home was still standing.
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“It’s just absolutely devastating, and it angers me to no end that we were not prepared for this,” he said. “I mean, I could go into a whole list of things.
“I’m just praying for the people that have been affected by this fire, that have lost everything – them, their families, the families of the people that have perished. It’s just, it’s absolutely despicable.”
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The “Renegade” star reminisced about growing up by the beach and how disaster preparedness used to be the norm, even when he was a child.
“I lived in Southern California for most of my life, 50 plus, 55 years, and we used to practice … we used to dive under the tables in school for earthquakes, but we never thought of fires being at this level of danger,” Lamas said. “It’s just the lack of preparation. I’m telling you. It’s just the lack of preparation is staggering.
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“In a city that we know every season, there’s a danger of fire. Why didn’t we have enough water to fight these fires? You know, they’re talking about pump pressure not being able to get out to the hoses. Give me a break. You know, there just wasn’t enough water in the reservoirs.”
The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported Wednesday that the Palisades Fire burned 23,713 acres and is now 19% contained. Eight fatalities have been reported since the fire ignited on Tuesday, Jan. 7, with more than 2,100 structures estimated to be destroyed or damaged.
Less than 30 miles away, the Eaton Fire, which also ignited on Jan. 7 in Altadena, burned 14,117 acres and is now 45% contained. Sixteen fatalities have been confirmed, and more than 4,600 structures are estimated to be damaged or destroyed.
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Although Lamas spent decades living in Los Angeles, he now calls Idaho home. He recently underwent hip replacement surgery after suffering for years with arthritis.
“It was bone on bone for about a year, and I just wasn’t used to not having the mobility,” Lamas said. “I’ve always been active and it was just time. So, I had my hip replaced at Northwest Orthopaedic in Spokane, Washington – Dr. Jay Wojcik – great sports medicine guy … I’m doing really, really well.”
He relied on his daughter Alexandra for extra help during the recovery process, noting “it’s important for everybody to have that support at home.”
Lamas celebrated his first wedding anniversary with wife Kenna Nicole Scott in October. The couple regularly boasts about the love they share for each other on social media after dating for five years.
He admitted there’s one secret to keeping their union unscathed and staying connected.
“Communication, communication … I would say forgiveness is a big part of it,” Lamas said. “Also, not putting blame. Because in a relationship, there’s two people, and it takes two people to make it or break it. And if you’re always like blaming each other for this and that, you’re just never going to have that peace. You know? So maturity, communication, forgiveness.”
