Private firefighters are in demand in LA

On one side of Monument Street in Pacific Palisades, California, lots where multimillion-dollar houses once stood are now ash and rubble. On the other, an outdoor shopping mall is largely intact.

- By TIM ARANGO and DEBRA KAMIN

During the height of the fires, Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, Rick Caruso, the billionaire developer who owns Palisades Village, was conferring with his security staff as they deployed several private firefighters from Arizona to save the shopping center (and who, Caruso said, tried unsuccessfully to save nearby homes as well).

Early Wednesday, after fire hydrants in the area went dry or lost pressure, Caruso called in private water trucks to assist.

Across Los Angeles County, the fires have destroyed more than 12,000 structures. As the fires continue to burn, officials and many of the millions of people who live in Los Angeles are expressing anger, shock and frustration over how the fires, unprecedented as they were, overwhelmed emergency responders.