As forest fire spread Across Southern California this week, President-elect Donald Trump blamed state leaders and called on California Governor Gavin Newsom to resign. satya social post,
Trump accused Newsom of prioritizing environmental policies over public safety and claimed that FEMA lacked the funds to respond to the crisis. CBS News Confirmed looked into some of the claims. Here's what we know.
Newsom refutes Trump's claim about water restoration announcement
trump claimed Newsom “refused to sign a water restoration proclamation” in which he said millions of gallons of water would be sent to areas now burning, accusing him of prioritizing a small fish called smelt over residents.
In response, Newsom's office Said“There is no such document as the Water Restoration Declaration – it is pure fiction.”
Trump was seen referencing his administration's 2019 Proposal Redirecting water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to Central Valley farms and Southern California urban areas.
California officials and environmentalists successfully filed a lawsuit against to challenge it partly because they argued that the rules would endanger wildlife, including smelt, in the Delta.
In December, President Biden's administration, with support from Newsom, supported He said the new rules would allow more water to be drawn from the Delta to Southern California, while also protecting local wildlife.
An official who helps oversee Southern California's water supply refuted Trump's claims that his proposed changes could reduce wildfires.
Mark Gold, water scarcity director of the Natural Resources Defense Council and a member of the Metropolitan Water District board that provides water to 19 million people in Southern California, told CBS News, “These issues have nothing to do with how much we A quantity of water has been stored.” “The Metropolitan Water District currently has a record amount of water stored within this region.”
Is in Southern California adequate water supply That followed good rainfall in previous years, but a lack of rain in the area in recent months resulted in vegetation drying out — something Trump's proposal wouldn't have helped, Gold said.
“What happened has nothing to do with the safety of the Bay Delta and how the water is being managed there,” Gould said.
Trump says there is no water in the fire hydrant
In multiple social media positions This week, Trump referred to “no water in the fire hydrants.”
Los Angeles officials faced sharp criticism after some fire hydrants ran dry in parts of Pacific Palisades overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.
Janice Quinones, chief executive and chief engineer of the LA Department of Water and Power, Said A Wednesday press conference reported that all three 1-million-gallon water tanks in the area were dry by 3 a.m., causing a loss of water pressure for fire hydrants at higher elevations.
Quinones said the tanks, which supply pressure to hydrants in the Hill Palisades, could not refill fast enough because firefighting efforts drained the water faster than the main trunk line.
LA Fire Department Captain Eric Scott Said LADWP proactively filled all available water storage tanks prior to the fire. This followed some widely shared claims on social media that officials had refused or failed to fill the tanks.
Mark Pastrella, Director of the LA County Department of Public Works, Said Municipal water systems for the affected areas were overtaxed, partly because firefighters were unable to use air support due to high winds and poor visibility.
“The municipal water systems that serve our homes and businesses continue to operate effectively. However, they are not designed to fight wildfires. Firefighters with multiple fire hydrants may be out of the system for several hours. “Pulling water is not sustainable. That's a known fact,” Pastrella said.
In a statement, Newsom said he was calling for an independent investigation into the loss of water pressure at local fire hydrants and “reports of the unavailability of water supply from the Santa Ynez Reservoir.”
Santa Ynez Reservoir, near Pacific Palisades, had a water resource of 117 million gallons. out of use for repairs when a fire broke out in a Los Angeles neighborhood this week, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Trump claims “there is no money in FEMA”
Trump also criticized President Biden on social media PostClaiming that the current administration is leaving him with “no money at FEMA.”
FEMA's disaster relief fund was decreasing rapidly After Hurricane Helen last October and a series of major disasters, but Mr Biden signed a bill in December that added $29 billion to fund.
The agency said on Wednesday cnn They had about $27 billion left in disaster relief funds. CBS News has reached out to confirm the current balance.
The White House said in a statement Said FEMA has approved fire management assistance grants. Reimbursement California for firefighting costs,