Former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso is stoking speculation about his political future as he becomes one of the most vocal Democratic critics of the handling of the wildfires that have ravaged parts of the region.

At this point, it remains to be seen just how vulnerable Bass is due to her perceived failure to prepare and then respond to the fires.

Rebuilding homes destroyed by wildfires in the Los Angeles area could take more than a year to even begin — and that’s if everything goes smoothly, according to Rick Caruso, a billionaire developer and former mayoral candidate who says city leaders failed to protect lives and property.

Caruso, a candidate who lost the 2022 election to Mayor Karen Bass, owns shopping centers across the region, including the Grove in Fairfax, the Americana at Brand in Glendale and Palisades Village, a retail-residential complex in the Palisades that was damaged in the blaze.

The former Republican and mayoral candidate is riling up California's moderates amid the destruction, but will it work?

Developer Rick Caruso, who built and owns the Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito, is speaking out about his Palisades property.

While social media amplifies (and attacks) wealthy homeowners offering to "pay any amount" for mitigation — and such outfits do certainly exist — most private firefighters work for utilities, insurers or independent jurisdictions.

More than a week after enormous blazes spread unchecked through swathes of America's second-largest metropolis, questions are being asked about how some of the city's super-rich seem to have survived

Rick Caruso, the billionaire real-estate developer who lost the mayoral race to Bass, now leads the charge against her.

Amid the devastation of the fires, private firefighters have sparked anger, a sign of inequality between the city's wealthiest residents and those struggling to rebuild.

Hiring a private fire crew costs thousands of dollars a day, and most work through government contracts or with insurance companies. Some wealthy property owners are calling them in directly.

Former Los Angeles mayoral candidate, Rick Caruso, made a heartbreaking admission about the devastating wildfires on HBO 's Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday.