WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden repeatedly told speakers to “Shoot!” After a White House briefing about the still-raging Los Angeles wildfires, he blamed local power companies for running out of fire hydrants, a claim quickly rejected by both regional power companies.
Biden, 82, shocked attendees on Thursday with his choice of words given the severity of the devastation caused by the hellish duel, and later blamed President-elect Donald Trump for draining a fire hydrant. He praised California Governor Gavin Newsom.
“Mrs. Vice President, we know you are directly affected, so fire your shots!” Biden told Vice President Kamala Harris, a native of California. Vice President Harris looked surprised at the president sitting next to her at the executive table in the Roosevelt Room.
To Harris' stunned expression, he added: “I'm not kidding.”
But shortly afterward, Biden repeated the same eyebrow-raising directive, telling U.S. Forest Service Director Randy Moore: “Secretary, why aren't you firing?” Multiple fires continue to burn across 30,000 acres across Los Angeles, killing at least five people.
The flippant wordplay came a day after Biden came under fire for saying, “The good news is, starting today, you're a great-grandfather” during a visit to a Santa Monica fire station, which critics said was They criticized him for being insensitive to the plight of thousands of people. Residents who fled their homes.
The gaffe-prone president also defended Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, both Democrats, in his remarks Thursday, saying that the power was cut off by fire hydrants that destroyed thousands of homes and left firefighters helpless. He blamed it on the company.
The commander-in-chief suggested that power companies cut off power to prevent explosions and further fires, but also cut off the power needed to pump water from fire hydrants.
“What I learned from talking to the governor [is] Water shortages are also a concern. In fact, it's no surprise that the power companies shut off the power because they were worried that the lines that were delivering the power would be destroyed and cause more fires,” Biden said.
“There is a direct correlation between power companies and their ability to pump water from fire hydrants, which is why many uninformed people allow themselves to make claims, concerns, and accusations that local officials are indifferent and not working. ” he argued.
The president said, “Most of the situations in which water resources are decreasing are due to the inability of power companies to maintain power transmission, and power companies collapse or shut down to prevent further damage. “It's for the sake of it,” he said. A fire breaks out. ”
But a spokesperson for Southern California Edison, which provides power to the fire-ravaged area, said he could not substantiate the president's claim that the company caused the hydrants to run dry.
Kathleen Dunleavy said she had “not had any issues with local water or fire agencies in our service area,” and that she had listened to Biden's remarks and checked with the company's team on the ground. .
“We will work with water authorities and fire departments to ensure water service continues as a priority should any issues arise.”
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which also provides electricity to the area, previously reported that three 1 million-gallon water tanks that supply fire hydrants in Pacific Palisades were all empty by 3 a.m. Wednesday.
Asked about Mr. Biden's statement that the utility company was to blame for shutting off power to the pumps, a spokesperson for the utility company told the Post that, in fact, “in the Palisades, normal demand for the area “Water demand has decreased because there was a huge demand for water, four times as much as the previous year.” Water pressure. ”
The president also got the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection involved at one point while blaming the power companies.
“But Cal Fire cut off the ability to generate underwater pumps when that happened. That was the cause of the water shortage… Cal Fire had to work hard to get those pumps up and running again. We have installed a generator to ensure that the water shortage from the fire hydrants is resolved.”
California Fire did not immediately respond to the Post's request for comment.
Mr. Biden's attack on “ignorant” critics of local officials was likely a veiled rebuke to Mr. Trump, who earlier Thursday called on Mr. Newsom to resign, citing a lack of water for firefighting.
Trump argued that Democratic governors chose to protect endangered fish species instead of sending much-needed water to Southern California.
The president-elect will issue a federal order to divert more water from humid Northern California to drier areas of the Golden State, “including areas currently experiencing virtually apocalyptic fires.” Newsom said he blocked it.
Patting Newsom and Bass on the back, Biden tried to rewrite the water supply problem as a problem caused by the electricity supply.
“I'm frankly proud of the work of California's local officials,” Biden said.
“I've spent a lot of time with the governor of Los Angeles, the mayor and others. You know, they've done everything we've asked of them and more.”
The outgoing president also noted that his son Hunter Biden, 54, lives in Santa Monica, but did not say whether his eldest son's rented home was destroyed in the disaster.
He also announced that the federal government would deploy additional firefighting helicopters and planes, and blamed the disaster on the effects of climate change, saying that the region's hills were not properly maintained and had become dry and thick. refuted President Trump's claim that a tinderbox is forming.
“Global warming is happening. It's going to change weather patterns,” Biden said.
The president said the rebuilding costs would be “very big, very big numbers,” adding: “If you give us numbers now, you don't know what we're talking about.”
