Liberal California may have a political 'reawakening' after wildfire disaster, historian predicts

Californians may have a "reawakening" that could trigger a "political shock" among the nation's top decision-makers after the state's highly criticized response to the Los Angeles wildfires brought to light the state's vulnerability and leadership failures, historian Victor Davis Hanson predicts.

"So, there is a group of people in California that could fuel a revolt of liberals or Democrats," Hanson, a Hoover Institution public policy think tank senior fellow, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

That group of people could include the wealthy on the coastal line whose homes were destroyed or damaged by the wildfires that broke out Jan. 7. Several celebrities, including filmmaker Mel Gibson and actor Michael Rapaport, openly blasted California leadership for its response to the crisis as the blaze destroyed several Los Angeles districts. 

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Historian Victor Davis Hanson analyzes how California may undergo a cultural shift after the destruction of the LA wildfires.  (Penny Collins/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

"So, the shock of LA is most of the people that were burned out in Pacific Palisades or on the areas around it were very, very left-wing and very wealthy," Hanson said. "And this was what's shocking politically, because the consequences of their votes and their ideology had never really personally affected them to this degree.

"This is going to be an accelerant or a force multiplier. That's because it affects two different groups of people," Hanson explained. "It affects the very wealthy. For the first time, they got firebombed. Looks like Dresden, and that's going to be $300 or $400 billion when it's all over. And they're going to have to deal with the Coastal Commission, the Los Angeles Planning Commission and permits for building. And they're going to be irate when they have to do that.

"The net result is, I don't think any California politician is going to have a national profile after this."

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass' absence during the first 24 hours of the inferno, coupled with empty hydrants, a malfunctioning reservoir, a defunded fire department and a lack of new water infrastructure — despite Gov. Gavin Newsom's backing of billions for new reservoirs — highlighted severe flaws in the state's response, noted by lawmakers and experts.

The state’s response to the crisis has fueled further criticism, particularly regarding its bureaucracy. In response, Newsom signed an executive order Sunday to suspend certain state commission requirements, aiming to speed up the rebuilding process for homeowners.

"Goodbye, red tape," Newsom wrote in a post on X. "Through an executive order, we are making it easier for victims of the SoCal fires to quickly rebuild their homes and lives."

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The auditorium at Elliott Junior High is barely recognizable Jan. 11, 2025, after being ravaged by a wildfire in Altadena, Calif. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

"If he could do it now, why didn't he do it before the fire?" Hanson said of the order. 

Another issue that has been a multiyear problem is California's loss of residents to red states. Dubbed the "California exodus" by experts, California has lost hundreds of thousands of residents over the past few years, many of them citing high taxes, unaffordable housing, crime and difficult business regulations. 

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom is defending his response to the Los Angeles wildfires as mounting backlash continues.   (Jae C. Hong/AP; Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images )

Many former California residents have relocated to states with lower taxes and more business-friendly environments, such as Texas, Florida, Tennessee and North Carolina. Top companies — Tesla, Oracle, Charles Schwab and Chevron — have also moved to other states.

Nearly 240,000 people moved out of California between 2023 and 2024, according to the Census Bureau. This was the largest net domestic migration loss in the country during that time period. Between April 2020 and July 2022, the state saw a net loss of more than 700,000 residents.

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"They're getting very, very angry that it's hard to do business … and they are angry at the gasoline prices," Hanson said. "And so I think there's the potential, if there were a clever, adroit, enlightened Republican candidate or political figure that could capitalize on. So far, the Republican Party doesn't know what to do. They don't know whether to go left and try to accommodate this left-wing population or go further right and galvanize it.

"There's no dissenting voices … and I think that's going to change after what we saw."