California’s governor Gavin Newsom is facing fresh fury after claiming he does not know how the Los Angeles wildfires happened – while appearing to cast blame on other officials, including beleaguered LA mayor Karen Bass.
Mr Newsom has been accused of ‘passing the buck’ in his latest attempts to defend his response to the devastating ‘Palisade Fire’ inferno across the state, as the official death toll today rose to 16.
The man previously touted as a potential Democrat presidential candidate has also been criticised over $100million cuts to funding earmarked for tackling wildfires.
Meanwhile, Ms Bass has been described as ‘the most hated woman in America’ for her response to the ongoing disaster, with fierce blazes continuing to rage and spread further across California.
The growing backlash comes as:
Both Ms Bass and Mr Newsom have been filmed having awkward encounters with people expressing public fears and demanding answers over the emergency response – with the governor confronted by a California mother and the major by a Sky News reporter.
Scrutiny is being stepped over why California’s 117million-gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir has been out of action for repairs for almost a year, reportedly left empty and unable to provide much-needed water supplies to help combat the wildfires.
Mr Newsom has written a letter to LA officials demanding to know why water has been in such short supply over recent days – but a new podcast interview in which he sought to shift responsibility elsewhere has only fuelled more anger against him.
Mr Newsom, California’s governor since 2019, told the podcast Pod Bless America and interviewer Jon Favreau that he had struggled to get ‘straight answers’ from his own officials about what was happening.
He said: ‘So, I’m the governor of California and want know the answer – I’ve got that question, I can’t tell you, by how many people, “What happened” – on my own team, “What happened?”.
‘I’ll be candid with you, I wasn’t getting straight answers.’
Favreau, a former aide to ex-US president Barack Obama, told how one of his ‘best friends’ had lost his home in The Palisades and felt Mr Newsom was ‘just trying to pass the blame’ to local leaders.
The governor replied: ‘We had my team start talking to local leaders, saying: “What’s going on?”
‘I was getting different answers – and so, for me, when you start getting different answers, then I’m not getting the actual story.’
He insisted he wanted to give officials ‘grace’ to assess the situation.
But viewers and listeners have been left unimpressed, with comments on X including: ‘There goes his chances of ever becoming President of the US. Adios Gavin.’
Other responses included ‘He needs to get fired’, ‘Sir, you are the manager’ and ‘I certainly don’t want to hear any more explanations or excuses’.
Another X user posted: ‘If he doesn’t know what happened, when he’s the first who should know, then he isn’t fit for purpose and needs to resign.’
The governor’s latest interview came after a California mother went viral when she challenged Mr Newsom for his bumbling response to the Los Angeles fires.
Rachel Darvish told Fox News she was furious with the California Governor after he was left scrambling for a response when she chased him down.
Mr Newsom claimed to be trying to reach President Biden on the phone at the time but said he could not get cell service, which Darvish argued was indicative of his mismanagement of the crisis.
Meanwhile, with thousands being forced to flee some of the city’s ritziest enclaves as homes and businesses burn to the ground, Ms Bass has come under increasing pressure.
But she stayed silent when challenged by a Sky News reporter, who posed questions including: ‘Do you owe citizens an apology for being absent while their homes were burning?’
As the mayor remained stone-faced, the reporter continued: ‘Do you regret cutting the fire department’s budget by millions of dollars, Madam Mayor? Have you nothing to say today?’
Still without receiving any answer, the reporter asked once again: ‘Have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today? Elon Musk says that you’re utterly incompetent. Are you reconsidering your position?’
Despite the questions, Ms Bass continued to remain completely silent for nearly a minute before walking away from the interviewer.
A Change.org petition demanding her immediate resignation has now passed 91,000 signatures.
The Democrat mayor was on a taxpayer-funded trip to Ghana last Tuesday despite warnings from weather experts that gusting Santa Ana winds of 80mph could spark catastrophic wildfires.
And she has faced more criticism today after posting on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram a video message during a visit to fire headquarters – including mockery for her smiling appearances despite the ongoing disaster.
Ms Bass accompanied the video with the words: ‘On the ground here in Sylmar being briefed on continued efforts to fight the Hurst Fire.
‘Thanks to courageous efforts by @losangelesfiredepartment and other departments working in partnership, the fire is 76% contained.’
Replies included scornful comments such as: ‘Pro tip is typically you shouldn’t be smiling as a leader during the worst disaster in California’s history.’
Others wrote messages including ‘We don’t stand with you resign’, ‘Like she cares? No way!’ and ‘Did you go out there just for the photos? To act like you’re doing something. We’re not dumb. Please step down. Nobody wants you’.
And other criticism of the mayor and other local leaders has come from Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, who said city chiefs failed her department by not providing enough money for firefighting.
She also aimed barbs at the lack of water, saying: ‘When a firefighter comes up to a hydrant, we expect there’s going to be water.’
The reservoir is reported to have been closed for repairs in recent weeks after damage to a covering which was meant to preserve water quality, the Los Angeles Times first reported.
Emptying of the reservoir is said to have started last February following a tear in the water cover which let debris into the water supply, before it was drained and bids for repairs were invited in April – but the status of any response remained unclear.
Fire hydrants in higher-elevation streets are also said to have gone dry, which left firefighter crews struggling with low pressure levels.
LADWP union leader Gus Corona has said: ‘It’s completely unacceptable that this reservoir was empty for almost a year for minor repairs.
‘This work should have been done in-house, and they shouldn’t have depended on a contractor to do it – I truly believe it’s something that could have been avoided.‘
Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been praised after they stood alongside Mr Newsom’s wife Jennifer as they served meals to the survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires.
The royal couple, who live near Santa Barbara, around 90 miles away from LA, were seen comforting victims as they handed out food parcels at the Pasadena Convention Centre, which is being used as an evacuation centre.
Meghan, 43, and Harry, 40, have rallied around victims by making donations to relief efforts through their Archewell Foundation and have opened their $29million Montecito mansion to loved ones who were forced to evacuate.
They were joined by Mayor Victor Gordo to visit the victims and see the destruction of the fire first-hand.
At one point, Gordo said he lost track of the Duke of Sussex – before witnessing an act of kindness from the royal.
According to local paper the Pasadena Star News, Harry offered an elderly man if he wanted something to eat – a sandwich, piece of fruit or some water.
When the man, who was not aware of who he was speaking to, said what he really wanted was a donut, Harry personally went out to fetch him one, and returned ten minutes later. “The gentleman said, “What I’d really like is a donut,”, Mr Gordo recalled.
In contrast to acclaim for the Duke and Duchess, there has been condemnation of celebrities such as Kim Kardashian – accused of wasting much-needed water that could have been used to save homes laid waste by the blazes.
Strict water-conserving measures have been in place since 2022, with ‘ordinary’ residents restricted to watering their gardens twice a week for eight minutes at a time.
Ms Kardashian, who lives in a $60 million house in The Oaks – an exclusive gated community near the epicentre of one of this week’s fires – was fined by city authorities that year for using 232,000 gallons of water more than her allocation.
Other celebrities including Sylvester Stallone and comedian Kevin Hart were also fined.
The Mail on Sunday understands that Ms Kardashian has since installed water-saving measures.
Last night a neighbour of Ms Kardashian told the Mail on Sunday: ‘These celebrities have a sense of entitlement.
‘Everyone was told to cut back on water precisely for this situation, to preserve it to fight fires. They carried on watering because they could afford the fines.’
Anger was also growing at rich people hiring private firefighters for $2,000 an hour to protect their properties.
Chris Dunn, owner of Covered 6, which provides the service to Hollywood’s elite, told the Mail on Sunday: ‘My phone has been ringing off the hook. Demand has never been higher.’
One wealthy source said: ‘This week’s events have shown you can’t trust the city to protect your property. I have the money, so why not?’
Today there were fears that winds could move the fires toward the J. Paul Getty Museum and the University of California, Los Angeles, while new evacuation warnings left more homeowners on edge.
Cal Fire reported the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth and Hurst fires had consumed about 160sq km (62 square miles), an area larger than San Francisco – while the Palisades and Eaton fires accounted for almost 153 sq km (59 square miles).
In a briefing posted online Saturday evening, Michael Traum of the California Office of Emergency Services said 150,000 people in Los Angeles County were under evacuation orders, with more than 700 people taking refuge in nine shelters.
Crews from California and nine other states are part of the ongoing response that includes 1,354 fire engines, 84 aircraft and more than 14,000 personnel, including newly arrived firefighters from Mexico, he said.
Mr Traum added: ‘Weather conditions are still critical and another round of strong winds is expected starting Monday.’