Amid his ongoing feud with California Governor Gavin Newsom, President-elect Donald Trump reignites the beef and continues slamming the “incompetent” officials in the state, whom he claims, “have no idea how to put out the fires still raging in Los Angeles” as stronger Santa Ana winds return.
As we previously shared, there have been at least seven fires (both big and small, with 5 major ones) engulfing different areas of Los Angeles County. The first to make headlines was the brush fire in the Pacific Palisades that broke out on Tuesday (January 7). The Palisades Fire grew quickly and did the most damage, doubling in size within an hour of erupting. This was the fire that led officials to issue one of the first evacuation alerts and implement a state of emergency.
Following the Palisades Fire, were the Eaton Fire near Altadena and Pasadena; the Hurst Fire near Sylmar and Santa Clarita; the Lidia Fire in Acton and around Soledad Canyon Road; the Woodley Fire near Woodley and Sepulveda Basin; the Sunset Fire near Runyon Canyon and the Hollywood Hills; and the Kenneth Fire burning in West Hills. The latter notably threatened homes near Calabasas and Hidden Hills. Other smaller fires were then reported near Studio City and Pacoima.
As of Sunday morning (January 12), the Palisades Fire has ravaged nearly 24,000 acres with a standstill 11% containment and the Eaton Fire, which has spanned over 14,100 acres, has been 27% contained. The Hurst fire, which has spanned 800 acres, has been 89% contained. The Kenneth Fire has been 100% contained after burning through more than 1,052 acres, and as of Saturday night (January 11), the Lidia Fire, Archer Fire, Woodley Fire, and Sunset Fire were all 100% contained after collectively scorching 487 acres.
As of Sunday morning (January 12), the Palisades Fire has burned 23,654 acres and is still 11% contained while the Eaton Fire also remains at 15% containment, with 14,117 acres burned. There have also been 16 deaths reported, with 16 people missing. Over 65,000 residents are still without power in Los Angeles County, and the NWS (National Weather Service) has issued red flag warnings, in effect until Wednesday (January 15).
However, after the Palisades Fire broke on January 7, the following day, President-elect Donald Trump slammed California Governor Gavin Newsom for the devastating wildfires raging across Los Angeles County. On January 8, Trump took to Truth Social and blamed Newsom for the deadly fires in Southern California’s Pacific Palisades and neighboring areas.
Trump said, “Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way.”
He added, “He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California. Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!”
RELATED: California Bans Insurance Cancellation, Non-Renewals In LA Areas Affected By Fires
In a second post attacking California Governor Gavin Newsom, Donald Trump posted “As of this moment, Gavin Newscum and his Los Angeles crew have contained exactly ZERO percent of the fire. It is burning at levels that even surpass last night. This is not Government. I can’t wait till January 20th!” Donald Trump also called out President Joe Biden, stating, “NO WATER IN THE FIRE HYDRANTS, NO MONEY IN FEMA. THIS IS WHAT JOE BIDEN IS LEAVING ME. THANKS JOE!”
He added, “The fires in Los Angeles may go down, in dollar amount, as the worst in the History of our Country. In many circles, they’re doubting whether insurance companies will even have enough money to pay for this catastrophe. Let this serve, and be emblematic, of the gross incompetence and mismanagement of the Biden/Newscum Duo. January 20th cannot come fast enough!”
Gavin Newsom clapped back at Trump during a broadcast with CNN host Anderson Cooper, who said to him, “I hate to even ask this question, but President-elect choose to attack you and blame you for this…” Before Cooper could finish his sentence, Newsom fired back, “One can’t even respond to it. I mean… People are literally fleeing. People have lost their lives. Kids lost their schools. Families completely torn asunder. Churches burned down. And this guy wanted to politicize it.”
He added, “I have a lot of thoughts and I know what I want to say, but I won’t. I stood next to the President of the United States of America today and I was proud to be with Joe Biden, and he had the backs of every single person in this community. He didn’t play politics. He didn’t try to divide any of us.”
Days later, on Friday (January 10), California Governor Gavin Newsom continued to drag President-elect Donald Trump and posted a letter from his office addressed to Trump. In his caption, he wrote, “@realdonaldtrump, as you prepare to assume the presidency once more, I invite you to come to California. The hundreds of thousands of Americans – displaced from their homes and fearful for the future – deserve to see us all working together in their best interests, not politicizing a human tragedy and spreading disinformation from the sidelines.”
Hours after Newsom’s open letter to Trump, as stronger Santa Ana winds return, the President-elect took to Truth Social again and wrote, “The fires are still raging in L.A. The incompetent pols have no idea how to put them out. Thousands of magnificent houses are gone, and many more will soon be lost. There is death all over the place. This is one of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Country. They just can’t put out the fires. What’s wrong with them?”
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