Edward Moore

It is possible to burn a mixture of water and oil(makes a very hot fire) see SAS Survival Handbook by John Wiseman or perhaps GOOGLE

My pleasure

In many cases you can get free batteries from golf courses from their carts. These are deep cycle batteries that are ideal for an off grid house. They think that the batteries are bad but in most cases they can be rejuvenated using a desulfator that you can build(google plans)

It can be had in Riverside, San Bernardino, Kern or even Los Angeles counties

I own a number of guns and can offer the following
1) A .22 is good for a number of uses and is inexpensive to fire
2) I also have a 12 gauge pump shotgun which is very versatile
3) For hunting I have an Enfield P14 in .303 British and an SKS with scope

I think that homesteading is possible in most places. I have spent 44 of my 49 years in California. The state has incredibly diverse landscape/climatic zones. You can choose desert, mountains, beaches or anything in between. You can buy 40 acres or nice land with trees and good soil within 1 1/2 hours of Los Angeles for $50,000. This is my goal as I seek to extricate myself from the rat race in the next few years

The gun topic is certainly a controversial one. I live in Los Angeles and spent 20 years in the security business and am well versed in guns. Based on my experience, I would suggest the following.
1) Work with local law enforcement. Hold a community meeting, invite them to attend and explain your issues. They will help if given an understanding of the situation.
2) Less than lethal weapons are great unless you need a lethal weapon
3) Guns are unfortunately a necessary evil in many places. Take classes, buy something that you are comfortable with and keep it in a lockbox. This is a handgun requirement in California.