This week will mark the one-year anniversary of the disastrous, out-of-control arson and utility-sparked wildfires in the Los Angeles area that claimed at least 31 lives and left a toll measured in the billions of dollars — not just in total damage but also lost property values. Driven by strong, seasonal Santa Ana winds, these fires forced thousands to evacuate, and many lost their homes.

Faced with the arduous task of rebuilding, state officials promised to be on the case.

“Local, state, and federal governments are delivering the fastest wildfire cleanup in U.S. history. Nearly 10,000 homes cleared — months ahead of schedule — because recovery can’t wait,” said Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom in a July announcement. “Now we turn the page to rebuilding, and we’re doing it with a clear plan, strong partnerships, and the urgency this moment demands.”

One year in, however, and despite that “urgency this moment demands,” only one resident out of all who suffered losses has managed to clear all the hurdles of rebuilding their home. It happens that I wrote about this issue back around the time Governor Hair Gel made those promises, but unfortunately, with the stalling and delays, I could plausibly copy and paste the article as new. It would ring just about as true today, almost six months later.

National Review’s John R. Puri broke down the numbers late last month: “As of [December 29], Los Angeles County has issued 41 percent of the 2,807 permits for rebuilding that residents have requested. The city of Los Angeles has approved 48 percent of its permit applications. Malibu, one of the cities hit hardest by the wildfires, has issued just 22 of the 202 permit requests it has received, with another 80 not even under review yet. Pasadena has issued 18 permits out of 61 applications. Overall, a paltry 13 percent of destroyed homes have received rebuilding permits in nearly a year.”

If it’s true that, as I concluded back in July, “the pace of rebuilding Pacific Palisades could be a good barometer of what Newsom’s national support will look like,” then the guy should be in a heap of trouble as far as his future political ambitions are concerned.

Our Nate Jackson also covered the more immediate aftermath of the fire, noting that blame was being shifted like a hot potato, even to the extent that then President-elect Donald Trump was being called out for “politicizing” the fires by local and state Democrats.

And that hot potato is still being passed around, as Noah Rothman of National Review detailed. Early on, former City of Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley was thrown under the bus, dismissed last February 21 in what Crowley described in a legal claim as a “retaliatory” firing, but there are still questions circulating about an October debriefing report regarding the Palisades fire that its author, LAFD Battalion Chief Kenneth Cook, refused to endorse. According to Rothman, Cook alleged that “the final product was altered and amended in ways that he found ‘highly unprofessional and inconsistent with our established standards.’” Further quoting Cook, the allegation continued, “The document has undergone substantial modifications and contains significant deletions of information that, in some instances, alter the conclusions originally presented.”

As Rothman notes, “That sure does smell like a cover-up, albeit an incompetent one.”

The Los Angeles fires are a classic example where there’s plenty of blame to go around, from not having the fire-fighting resources, particularly reliable water supplies, in place just in case, to failing to prepare for the forecast of heavy winds, to not addressing the aftermath of damage in a timely manner, clearing debris and streamlining the process so people can rebuild. But when there’s political patronage and bun-covering at stake, unfortunately, that’s par for the course.

While we can question why those affected likely voted for the incompetent government they’ve received since the fire started, asking that question doesn’t help them get a fresh start. The fire debris was eventually pushed out of the way, but the red tape of local and state government remains, and that’s what they need to get rid of.