Dean Cain, who grew up in Malibu, California, told Fox News Digital that all of the homes he once lived in, and in nearby Pacific Palisades, were destroyed during this week's violence. Wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
“I ended up getting three different houses in Pacific Palisades, one of which I owned and two that I rented and lived in,” Cain said. “The three Pacific Palisades (houses) are gone, all burned out. Looks like someone dropped a nuclear weapon on top of them and flattened everything. I've never seen anything like that before. Also, three of these houses I used to live in in Malibu are gone.” .
The “Lewis and Clark” star called for devastation “Shocking and horrific, but not unexpected. It's part of the reason I left California “It was a perfect storm of mismanagement and failure of leadership.”
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Dean Cain, who grew up in Malibu, California, told Fox News Digital that all of the homes he once lived in there and in nearby Pacific Palisades were destroyed during this week's wildfires. (Tommaso Bodi/Getty Images for Associated Television International | AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
When the Woolsey Fire struck in 2018, it burned his backyard but not his house, Cain said.
““We're used to this in Malibu,” he explained. “We get wind, we get fire, so we know how to deal with it. But when all the tools are taken away from you, no money, no brush removal, no controlled burns, all that stuff, you end up with a disastrous situation like this.”
Cain said that although his house was spared Woolsey fireHis fire insurance was subsequently canceled, adding that was part of the reason he left California for Henderson, Nevada, in 2018.
WATCH: Dean Cain says many of the homes he lived in were destroyed in California wildfires
“Pacific Palisades looks like someone dropped a nuclear weapon on top of it and flattened everything,” Cain said. (Michael Ho Y Li/Siba via AP)
He continued: “There are many of us who have been shouting from the rooftops, including President Trump, many times, during his first term in office.” “He was saying that, 'Mismanagement will cost you. Removing money from the fire budget will cost you. Uncontrolled burning will cost you. Failure on the water tank, that will cost you.'
Cain placed the blame squarely on Democrats Governor Gavin Newsom.
“You screwed up, Gavin Newsom,” he said. “You failed.” “There was a lot of water. Last year there was record rainfall, and the year before that, there was record rainfall. And the snow melting, and the water reservoir.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, right, inspects fire damage on Wednesday. (MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
Cain said his water bill was in the thousands a month when he lived in Malibu, and he couldn't get fire insurance for less than about $40,000 a year.
His son helped him realize that he had to leave the state by reminding him that he would keep it “Complains about tax policy, lack of common sense policies. Why do we live there?
“I said: Why are we here? “What do I do?” he said, “and it was strange to leave my home forever, but to come here now (Henderson, Nevada) and be in this wonderful house with great policies, you know, the Castle Doctrine, 'Stand Your Ground' and things… Like that, I'm like, “Wait a minute, this makes perfect sense.” And then, as I watch the disaster unfold, my heart is broken for the people who are suffering at the hands of this mismanagement but I hope it teaches them common sense.
He added, “Good times create weak men and weak men create bad times.”
Rosenthal Winery remains in Malibu, California. (Brian Van Der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“Weak policy creates difficult times. We are now in difficult times. We need strong men so we can create good times again. This is the case. Strong men and women, sound policy. “Everyone will be better off,” Cain said.
Actor Steve Guttenberg helps Palisades launch first responders as fire rages, 'It's a ghost town'
Cain went on to say that he thinks liberals in Hollywood usually “vote for all these things that don't really affect them, but when they do affect you — you can't get a permit to rebuild or your house burns down.” Or people then ransack your house—suddenly you love the police, you love the firefighters, you love the people whose reputations you've been discrediting for years, and you want common-sense policy.
““So once that affects you, your votes change. And I think that will turn a very blue state much more red,” he said. I hope California goes purple, and I hope that – listen, my heart goes out to those who have lost everything. I know they will go through years and years of routine, nightmares, and memories gone. It will be one of those catastrophic events in their lives. “And I hope this wakes people up so they start voting for sensible, logical policies, and prepare for this kind of thing in the future.”
Watch: Dean Cain predicts California fire disaster will change how Hollywood votes
Flames and smoke billow from buildings as the Palisades Fire raged in Southern California on Wednesday. (Reuters/Ringo Chiu)
“So once it affects you, your votes change. I think this will turn the case very blue, much more red. “I hope California goes purple.”
Because he lives in the desert, Cain said he has enough food in his car to last several days, and that he and his son have satellite radios as well as their cell phones to communicate with each other.
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““It doesn't mean I'm a survivor or a prepper, because that makes sense.”
But Cain said ““When you see a tragedy of this magnitude, you see how amazing the American people are, coming together.”
“He added: “There has been an influx of support, food, water and necessities. We are the most giving country in the history of humanity. We will remain, you know, as divided as possible, (but) there are times in natural disasters, in wars and things like that, when people come together in the states.” United together and it is great to see this happen. It will be a long and very difficult road.”
Beachfront properties were destroyed by the Palisades Fire. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrell)
Given the nature of the national news cycle, the devastation of the wildfires will be replaced by more recent news within a few weeks, “but all of these people's lives have been turned upside down,” Cain noted.
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“He continued: “I cannot understand the extent of what happened to the barriers.” “It's amazing to me. Palisades High School, it's gone. I mean football games. I played at Palisades High School. Dozens…it's gone. It's just gone. It's like so much of my childhood is gone. I'm moved away because of the terrible politics. It's just… “It's heartbreaking to see this happen. I don't want to say I told you so, but I told you so.”
The charred remains of Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades, California. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
WATCH: Dean Cain says 'a lot of my childhood is gone' after Palisades fire
Ken said that his mother, who is with him in Nevada, could not stop crying as she watched the devastation.
He said: “The house they built from the ground up… was completely destroyed. My mother has been crying for two days.”
Cain added that he feels leaving Malibu for Henderson is “one of the smartest things I've ever done.”
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“I feel like I've been liberated,” he said. “A lot of people will say, 'I got out at just the right time.' And I did. And because I was lucky to have the means and I had a son, my son Christopher said, 'Dad, let's go.'” And life is much easier here and much better. Beautiful neighborhoods and greater value. For your dollar…very low taxes compared to California, very low regulation compared to California…we are In the middle of the desert here in Nevada. We have better water rights, and water is expensive here as they say. “It's cheaper for me to get water here than it was in California…so it's definitely the right move I made.”
