Hot Take: Some Politicians Blaming AI Data Centers For LA Fires

Will this be a growing Talking Point from California politicians to cover up the incompetence of Californian politicians and their policies?

Politicians Blame Los Angeles Fires on Explosion of AI Data Centers

The city of Los Angeles is still battling three fierce wildfires. As of Monday morning, at least 24 people have lost their lives and more than 120,000 structures have been either damaged or destroyed in the area.

It’s a devastating situation — and the required water to keep the flames at bay is as difficult as ever to come by. The West Coast has been battling severe droughts, with Southern California getting extremely little rain last year.

While the fires raged, hydrants ran dry last week, leaving some firefighters empty-handed in the city’s greatest moment of need.

Yeah, and the Santa Ynez reservoir was empty, a main resource for fighting fires. The government was eliminating dams. Refer back to this article.

Meanwhile, as Politico reports, politicians have started pointing fingers at the burgeoning AI industry, which has garnered a reputation for sucking up staggering amounts of water to cool down the quickly-growing number of data centers powering it.

As such, three California lawmakers introduced bills last week aimed at encouraging AI data processing centers to work toward sustainable water use standards, and holding them accountable to new transparency rules.

“This is not a new issue, and it’s not one that’s been created because of the fire,” California senator Steve Padilla, who presented one of the bills, told Politico. “It’s one that is exacerbated by it, and I am concerned.”

Convenient. And the road to putting them completely under the control of the California government. Except, they will leave. And new ones will build in other states.

How big of a role the AI industry has played in the ongoing fires in LA specifically remains unclear. Inadequate infrastructure and major budget constraints were to blame as well (and not diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, as billionaire Elon Musk suggested last week).

It played no part. They were not involved in refusing to clear the brush, planting too many trees, not monitoring the electrical infrastructure, not creating fire breaks, etc.

Oh, and

JUST IN: The L.A. District Attorney announces three arson charges for Jose Carranza-Escobar. He could face up to 9 years in prison.

The police in Azusa arrested the homeless man late Friday for starting a brush fire in Pioneer Park. The flames were quickly extinguished.

It is… pic.twitter.com/FKhsXnkFNb

— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) January 13, 2025

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