Fact checking Trump’s claims about the California wildfires
As wildfires spread across Southern California this week, President-elect Donald Trump cast blame on state leaders and called for California Gov. Gavin Newsom to resign in a series of Truth Social posts.
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 disputes Trump’s claim about a water restoration declaration
Trump claimed Newsom “refused to sign the water restoration declaration” that he said would have directed millions of gallons of water to areas now burning, alleging he prioritized a small fish, called a smelt, over residents.
In response, Newsom’s office said, “There is no such document as the water restoration declaration – that is pure fiction.”
Trump appeared to reference his administration’s 2019 proposal to redirect water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to Central Valley farms and Southern California urban areas.
California officials and environmentalists successfully sued to challenge it in part because they argued the rules would endanger wildlife in the Delta, including the smelt fish.
In December, President Biden’s administration, in cooperation with Newsom, endorsed new regulations they said will allow more water to be pulled from the Delta to Southern California while also protecting local wildlife.
An official who helps oversee Southern California’s water supply refuted Trump’s claim that his proposed changes could have mitigated the wildfires.
Mark Gold, water scarcity director for the Natural Resources Defense Council and member of the Metropolitan Water District Board that provides water to 19 million people in Southern California, told CBS News, “The issues have nothing to do with what amount of water we have stored within the region. The Metropolitan Water District has a record amount of water stored at this time.”
Southern California has ample water supply after previous years of decent rains, Gold said, but the lack of rain in the region in recent months dried out vegetation — something Trump’s proposal wouldn’t have helped with.
“What happened has nothing to do with protecting the Bay Delta and how water is being managed there,” Gold said.
Trump says there is no water in the fire hydrants
In multiple social media posts this week, Trump referenced “no water in the fire hydrants.”
Los Angeles officials faced fierce criticism after some fire hydrants ran dry in parts of Pacific Palisades overnight from Tuesday into Wednesday.
Janisse Quiñones, chief executive and chief engineer of the L.A. Department of Water and Power, said at a Wednesday press conference that all three 1-million-gallon water tanks in the area ran dry by 3 a.m., reducing water pressure for fire hydrants at higher elevations.
Quiñones said the tanks, which supply pressure for hydrants in the hilly Palisades, couldn’t refill fast enough as firefighting efforts drained water faster than the main trunk line could supply it.
L.A. Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said the LADWP proactively filled all available water storage tanks before the fires began. It followed some widely shared claims on social media that officials had refused or failed to fill the tanks.
Mark Pastrella, director of the L.A. County Department of Public Works, said that the municipal water systems for the impacted areas were overtaxed, partly because firefighters were unable to use air support due to high winds and poor visibility.
“The municipal water systems that service our homes and businesses continue to work effectively. However, they’re not designed to fight wildfires. A firefight with multiple fire hydrants, drawing water from the system for several hours is unsustainable. This is a known fact,” Pastrella said.
In a statement, Newsom said he was calling for an independent investigation into the loss of water pressure to local fire hydrants, and “the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir.”
The Santa Ynez Reservoir, a 117-million-gallon water resource near the Pacific Palisades, was out of use for repairs when fires tore through the Los Angeles neighborhood this week, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Trump claims there is “no money in FEMA”
Trump also lobbed criticisms at President Biden in a social media post, claiming the current administration is leaving him “no money in FEMA.”
FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund was rapidly dwindling last October after Hurricane Helene and a series of major disasters, but Mr. Biden signed a bill in December that added $29 billion to the fund.
On Wednesday, the agency told CNN they had approximately $27 billion left in the Disaster Relief Fund. CBS News has reached out to confirm the current balance.
In a statement, the White House said FEMA has approved Fire Management Assistance Grants to reimburse California for firefighting costs.