A California father of two who lost his home to wildfires on Jan. 8 is calling for significant changes in leadership “that absolutely failed” the state’s residents in a crisis.

“There’s a deep part of me right now that’s like, it wasn’t just my home that burned down and my life’s work that burned down. It is the trust in the leadership and the systems that absolutely failed us,” Blake Mallen said. “…There’s a part of me that’s just let down, disappointed, pissed off, that I was … failed by leadership in a system that I worked my whole life doing what was right to get to a point that everybody’s supposed to get to.”

Mallen, a 44-year-old entrepreneur and lifelong California resident, made sure his wife and children, ages 6 and 9, evacuated safely before he stayed behind to try and save his Pacific Palisades home as flames began to reach his neighborhood.

Mallen spent Jan. 7 trying to get his family’s sentimental items out of the home and preparing it as best as he could for the impending fires.

“It is the trust in the leadership and the systems that absolutely failed us”

A destroyed home in Mallen’s neighborhood. (Handout)

He noted that Californians pay “an exorbitant amount of taxes” — taxes he has been paying for decades, as a lifelong Californian — and yet, “we can’t even have water in our own hoses to protect our own homes,” Mallen said.

Mallen said he is speaking up now to share his story, which he said represents thousands of other families who lost everything when they were displaced by the California wildfires. He wants to “shine a spotlight on a story that’s ours but also represents thousands of others in similar situations in a way to create absolutely needed change,” he said.

The Mallen family’s destroyed back patio. (Handout)

“The only thing more powerful than a wild wildfire that just burned thousands of homes, and my home, will be the community that comes together to rebuild it,” he said.

Mallen’s family members have started a GoFundMe titled “Mallen Family Restart” to help Blake and his wife rebuild after the devastation.

As of Friday morning, Cal Fire reported that over 40,600 acres had been burned, and more than 12,300 structures were destroyed in the fires. At least 27 people were confirmed to have been killed in the blaze, though that number could rise as dozens are still missing.