Washington:
US President-elect Donald Trump has blamed California Governor Gavin Newsom for the wildfires ravaging through the Los Angeles area, saying that Newsom refused to sign the water restoration declaration that would have pumped more water to flow into California.
Trump said that Newsom wanted to protect a fish called a smelt by giving it less water instead of caring about the people of California. He urged Newsom to allow water to flow into California.
In a post shared on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump stated, “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 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, and no firefighting planes. A true disaster,” he added.
Donald Trump said that Gavin Newsom and his Los Angeles crew have contained zero per cent of the fire.
In another post shared on Truth Social, the US President-elect stated, “As of this moment, Gavin Newscum and his Los Angeles crew have contained exactly ZERO per cent of the fire. It is burning at levels that even surpass last night. This is not Government. I can’t wait till January 20th!”
He further added, “NO WATER IN THE FIRE HYDRANTS, NO MONEY IN FEMA. THIS IS WHAT JOE BIDEN IS LEAVING ME. THANKS JOE!”
Trump’s statement comes after the severe impact of the wildfires, which have burned thousands of acres and forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate. Two people have been killed in the wildfires which erupted on Tuesday.
While addressing a press conference on Wednesday, LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said that two people were killed and there have been a high number of injuries due to the Eaton Fire. The cause of death for the two civilians has not yet been determined. About 100 structures have been destroyed due to the Eaton fire.
Tens of thousands of residents were evacuated as over 5,000 acres burned in the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, an estimated 1,000 structures were destroyed in the Palisades Fire. Officials said there were injuries due to the fire, ABC News reported.
The Eaton Fire, which broke out miles away from the Palisades Fire in California’s Altadena, has burned 2,227 acres with zero per cent containment. Meanwhile, the Hurst Fire broke out and spread northeast of California’s San Fernando, burning at least 500 acres.
According to poweroutage.us, at least 245,000 customers were without power as of 8:40 am (local time) in Los Angeles County. California officials asked residents to follow evacuation orders to keep themselves and first responders out of danger as the fires continue to increase, the report said.
According to LAPD Chief James McDonnell, Los Angeles County and all 29 fire departments in the county “are not prepared for this type of widespread disaster,” despite officials prepositioning resources from northern California, ABC News reported.
McDonnell said, “There are not enough firefighters in LA County to address four separate fires of this magnitude.” The LAPD Chief said that the LA County Fire Department was prepared for one or two major brush fires but not four.
“The LA County Fire Department was prepared for one or two major brush fires, but not four — especially given the sustained winds and low humidities. As our director of emergency management said, this is not a normal red flag alert,” he said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency to further support the communities impacted by this fire. He visited Pacific Palisades and met with local and state fire officials to support their response to the Palisades Fire.
In a statement, Newsom said, “This is a highly dangerous windstorm that’s creating extreme fire risk – and we’re not out of the woods. We’re already seeing the destructive impacts of this fire in Pacific Palisades that grew rapidly in a matter of minutes.”
He expressed gratitude to firefighters and first responders for their quick response and urged residents to pay attention to weather reporters and follow instructions given by emergency officials.
“Our deepest thanks go to our expert firefighters and first responders who jumped quickly into fighting this dangerous fire. If you’re in Southern California, please pay attention to weather reports and follow any guidance from emergency officials,” Newsom said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
