California Gov. Gavin Newsom shifted blame to “local residents” and mismanaged the state's water supply as Pacific Palisades fires raged and fire hydrants ran out of water. He also said he was unable to respond to President-elect Donald Trump's accusations. .
newsome, Interview with CNN's Anderson Coopersaid local authorities must figure out why Los Angeles' fire hydrants ran dry and firefighters were left helpless as countless homes burned overnight in upscale neighborhoods Wednesday.
“You know, the locals are trying to figure it out,” he told Cooper, who asked about the hydrant situation.
“What I mean is if you have a system, whether it's pipes, electrical, or just complete suppression of the system, what we see in other unusually large fires, It’s no different than what we had,” Newsom rambled. .
“So a hydrant typically responds to two or three fires. Perhaps one fire could result in a fire of this magnitude, but again this is to be determined by local residents. It will be.”
The three 1 million-gallon water tanks that supply Pacific Palisades' fire hydrants were all empty by 3 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Fueled by Santa Ana winds, the Palisades Fire and two other large fires ravaged entire neighborhoods, destroying thousands of homes, businesses and schools in their path.
Newsom and local officials like Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have been accused of mismanagement that may have worsened the disaster.
President Trump on Wednesday blamed Newsom for the out-of-control fires, saying the Democratic governor has given up on protecting endangered fish species instead of sending desperately needed water to Southern California. He claimed to have made a choice.
The president-elect will issue a federal order to divert more water from the humid climate of northern California to drier areas of the Golden State, “including areas where fires are currently burning in virtually apocalyptic conditions.” Newsom said he blocked the move.
“He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called smelt…and he didn't care about Californians,” the president-elect said. His truth ranted on social platforms..
“Now the ultimate price is being paid. I demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean fresh water to flow into California. He is responsible for this.”
Mr. Cooper on Wednesday night called on Mr. Newsom to respond to Mr. Trump's criticism.
“I can’t even respond to that,” Newsom responded. “People are literally running away, people are losing their lives, children are losing their schools, families are being completely torn apart, churches are being burned down. This man wanted to politicize it.”
“I have a lot of thoughts and I know what I want to say, but I don't want to say it,” he added.
While Newsom was criticized for blocking the water transfer order, Mayor Bass cut $17.6 million from the Los Angeles Fire Department's fiscal year 2024-25 budget and prioritized funding for homeless services instead. Condemned.
She was criticized by local voters for traveling 11,400 miles to Africa to attend the inauguration of Ghana's president while the city was ravaged by wildfires.
