I really think it's because the authorities learned something from New Orleans and got their act together this time. The new FEMA management probably didn't hurt either. I've already heard rumblings that it was because the victims of this tragedy were generally affluent and white, as opposed to the people of NOLA; but I think this criticism is grossly unfair. If the disasters had occurred in the opposite order, California would have probably been a screw-up, and NOLA handled much better.

There may be a lot of geographical reasons, too; in spite of the fires, there was still access to S Cal by motor and air, and NOLA/Mississippi was essentially cut off from the world, so staging was easier. Also, there was probably already a group of responders mobilized in S Cal, they fight fires there all the time and they're geared up for it. The fires did not happen overnight, either, and communications and transport were never cut off and the damage was not as consolidated, so these contributed to the effectiveness of the response.

I'm no fan of Ahnold myself, but I really liked the way he humiliated the "Oh yeah" reporter who was trying to snark him on why the air tankers weren't flying from the start (he had to explain that in the Santa Ana winds, some air ops were just impossible). The pretty reporter had obviously not done her homework and her cheap shot boomeranged on her.

Anyway, I have extensive experience in emergency operations here in South Florida, and that's my take on it.

As for having a $1.2M house with no insurance in that part of the country with its fire history, that is just inconceivable. He must have owned the house free and clear, because no bank would loan you that much cash without insurance.