Actor Mel Gibson sparks controversy, calls California fires ‘convenient’

ISTANBUL

Actor Mel Gibson has sparked controversy by flirting with conspiracy theories over raging Los Angeles wildfires that have destroyed thousands of structures, leaving untold numbers of people without homes, and killed at least 24 people.

“I can make all kinds of horrible theories up in my head, conspiracy theories and everything else, but it just seemed a little convenient that there was no water,” Gibson, a former Hollywood A-lister whose star later dimmed due to controversial remarks, told Fox News in a weekend interview, referring to inadequate water pressure that left some firefighters powerless to put out blazes. Officials have said that with several fires burning, too many hoses were trying to draw on the water reserves at once.

The actor – whose $14.5 million home was lost in the fires, along with many other actors' – also cast suspicion “that the wind conditions were right and that there are people ready and willing and able to start fires.”

He speculated if the alleged arsonists were "commissioned" or "just acting on their own volition," wondering aloud if the fires were set “on purpose.”

He speculated: “What could it be? You know, what do they want? The state (of California) empty? I don’t know.”

Authorities have blamed the massive fires on such factors as dry seasons that were normally wet, hurricane-force Santa Ana winds that quickly spread the fires, and, in a larger sense, the effects of global warming.

After a string of hits early in his career, starting in 2006 Gibson attracted criticism for antisemitic and racist remarks as well as alleged antisemitic tropes in the film The Passion of the Christ, which Gibson co-wrote and directed. Gibson apologized for the remarks and defended the movie, denying that he is prejudiced, but the controversy left him blacklisted from major film studios.

For seven days, massive wildfires have been burning through Los Angeles, California and nearby areas. The wildfires have now killed 24 people, while firefighters struggle to control the intense flames, pushed by dry winds and record heat.