A Los Angeles millionaire CEO sparked outrage for a 'tone deaf' post asking for help from 'private firefighters' to protect his Pacific Palisades mansion while emergency services scrambled to help residents as the area burned to the ground.
Keith Wasserman, co-founder of real estate investment firm Gelt Venture Partners, posted on X pleading for help as a massive wildfire tore through the hillside.
'Does anyone have access to private firefighters to protect our home in Pacific Palisades? Need to act fast here. All neighbors houses burning. Will pay any amount. Thank you,' he wrote, before receiving backlash from what he called 'trolls'.
'Incredible nerve,' wrote commenter Sam Vance. 'His family is evacuated and he's trying to hire private firefighters to risk their lives to save a home he most certainly has insured. Incredibly tone deaf.'
Another user, going by Jacquie, weighed in: 'If you find yourself tweeting for private firefighters to protect your property, you should probably question what you have become as a human being.'
User Renny added: 'So you're suggesting that potentially lifesaving resources (even if 'private') should be diverted to save your house because you're rich while tens of thousands of people try to evacuate?'
Mr Wasserman clapped back that he had left 'hours ago', noting that he was only 'trying to protect homes'.
The enormous blaze has already forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, some of whom abandoned their cars and fled on foot to safety with roads blocked.
California governor Gavin Newsom said 'many structures' have already been 'destroyed' in Pacific Palisades. Officials have not given an exact number, but said about 30,000 residents are under evacuation orders and 13,000 structures under threat.
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