President-elect Donald Trump blamed California’s Gavin Newsom for the ‘apocalyptic’ wildfires ravaging the Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles — claiming he chose to save an extinct tiny fish species, instead of sending more water to southern California.
Trump raged that the Democratic governor blocked an order that would have diverted more water from the much wetter north to the state’s parched regions “including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way.”
“He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt… but didn’t care about the people of California,” the incoming president ranted on his Truth Social Platform.
“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 to blame for this.”
Trump has long supported diverting supply from California’s main water hub, the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, to farmers who have sturggled with repeated droughts.
But his plans faced resistance from environmental groups that argued they would disastrously hurt the population of delta smelt – small fish that were once crucial California’s ecosystem, but has since been rendered effectively extinct.
Trump first promised to redirect California’s northern runoff south to benefit farmers during his first presidential bid in 2016, and made good on his promise in 2020 with a federal memorandum that redirected millions of gallons of water he said was otherwise “needlessly flushed” into the ocean, according to Courthouse News Service.
Stay up to date with the NYP’s coverage of the terrifying LA-area fires
But days later Newsom’s administration sued to block Trump’s move, and succeeded in limiting the amount of water that can be pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The two politicians have spent the ensuing years duking it out over the state’s water plans – which are regulated by both state and federal laws.
In September, Trump said that if elected he would cut off wildfire aid to California if Newsom refused to change a policy protecting the smelt and allow water to flow on his terms, the Hill reported.
“If we don’t give him money to put out his fires, he’s got problems,” Trump said at the time.
Rather than capitulating, Newsom doubled down and teamed up with President Biden to devise their own regulation to direct water to southern California with the smelt in mind.
Newsom’s office also denied Trump’s claims Wednesday, with his spokespeople claiming they weren’t quite sure what “water restoration declaration” Trump was referring to.
“There is no such document as the water restoration declaration – that is pure fiction,” a statement said.
“The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need.”
Though Trump appeared to be blaming Los Angeles’ fires on water shortages – the area’s water situation is much less dire than it has been in years past.
While LA is currently under a drought, the situation is only rated “moderate drought,” the lowest ranking on the US Drought Monitor’s scale.
At least two people have been killed in the three separate infernos raging around Los Angeles, the biggest of which — the Palisades Fire — remains 0% contained, according to fire officials.
The Eaton Fire – which is burning on the north side of Los Angeles – exploded from 2,000 acres to more than 10,000 in hours on Wednesday.
More than 70,000 LA residents have been ordered to evacuate their homes.
