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Los Angeles residents angered by local officials’ response to the fires devastating their communities are now questioning how their tax dollars are being used, a researcher told Fox News.

Kristian Fors, a Los Angeles County resident and research fellow at the California-based Independent Institute, told the outlet on Sunday that Californians assume their leaders will fix problems that arise, Fox News reported.

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“I think at its core level, we, the citizens of the United States and of Los Angeles, we expect certain provisions from our government. And when people see that our basic needs are not being met, they’re angry,” he continued:

I think the people of California — they’re willing to pay high taxes. They’re willing to support things that maybe they don’t necessarily agree with because there is a basic assumption that underlies it all, that our government is here to take care of us. But now in a situation like this, when there’s total mismanagement, when people are scared, when there’s 0% containment, people are asking themselves a question, what did all those tax dollars go for?

The death toll from the wildfires that are leaving the Los Angeles area in ashes rose to 16 on Sunday, according to Breitbart News.

In addition, “Some 150,000 people in Los Angeles County are now under evacuation orders with another 700-plus people taking refuge in nine shelters,” the article said.

CBS New York reported on Saturday there are four major fires burning in the Los Angeles area and more than 12,000 structures had been destroyed:

Fors shared issues he thinks could have been addressed to help the situation. Two of his suggestions were more favorable insurance policies and additional controlled burns.

It is important to note that Los Angeles residents are demanding Mayor Karen Bass (D) be immediately recalled “due to her gross mismanagement and failure to effectively respond to the devastating 2025 fires in and around the city of Los Angeles,” they said in a petition that has reached 99,649 signatures, Breitbart News reported Saturday.