California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass are facing mounting criticism for their handling of the ongoing wildfires, which have resulted in 16 fatalities. Newsom claimed uncertainty about the fires’ origin while shifting blame to local officials, leading to accusations of mismanagement and inadequate response. Moreover, he faced backlash for cutting over $100 million in wildfire funding. Bass, dubbed “America’s most hated woman,” remained silent when questioned about her leadership during the crisis. Additionally, a critical water shortage has hampered firefighting efforts, with reservoirs down for repairs. Calls for both officials’ resignations are growing louder.
California Governor Gavin Newsom is facing fresh ire after claiming he doesn’t know how the Los Angeles wildfires started, while embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen He appears to be shifting the blame to other officials, including Basu.
In his latest attempt to defend his response to the devastating Palisade fires across the state as the official death toll rose to 16 people today, Newsom said: He has been accused of “shifting the blame.”
The former Democratic presidential candidate has also been criticized for cutting more than $100 million in funding for wildfire fights.
Meanwhile, Bass has been dubbed “America’s most hated woman” for her response to the ongoing disaster, which continues to rage and spread across California.
The growing backlash includes:
Mr. Bass and Mr. Newsom were filmed having awkward encounters with people voicing national concerns and demanding answers over the emergency response, with the governor’s California mother and Major’s is confronted by a Sky News reporter.
California’s Santa Ynez Reservoir, which has a capacity of 117 million gallons, has been shut down for repairs for nearly a year and reportedly remains empty, unable to provide much-needed water to fight wildfires. An investigation is underway to determine why this is not the case.
Newsom has written a letter to L.A. officials demanding to know why water has been so scarce in recent days, but a new podcast interview in which he tried to shift the blame only fuels more anger against him. is.
Newsom, who has been California’s governor since 2019, told the podcast Pod Breathe America and interviewer Jon Favreau that he wanted to get “straight answers” from his country’s officials about what was going on. He said he was having a hard time.
California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass come under fire over their response to the Palisade fire disaster, which included the Mandeville Canyon fire.
Gavin Newsom questioned by California mother over disaster response
LA Mayor Karen Bass, under pressure, remained silent when asked by a Sky News reporter.
He said: “So I’m the governor of California and I want to know the answer, I have that question, how many people can’t say ‘what happened’ but my What happened in the team? What happened? ”
“To be frank, I couldn’t get a clear answer.”
Favreau, a former aide to former President Barack Obama, said one of his “best friends” lost his home in the Palisades and felt Newsom was “just trying to shift the blame” to local leaders.
The governor responded, “I had our team start talking to local leaders and say, ‘What’s going on?'”
“I was getting different answers. So, to me, when you start getting different answers, I’m not getting the real story.”
He insisted he wanted to give officials “grace” to assess the situation.
However, viewers and listeners were not impressed, with comments regarding X such as: “There is no longer any chance of him becoming president of the United States.” Adios Gavin. ”
Other responses included “He should be fired,” “Sir, you’re the manager,” and “I definitely don’t want to hear any more explanations or excuses.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (left) said in a podcast interview with Jon Favreau (right) that he has struggled to get so-called “straight answers” when asking questions of officials.
Another X user posted: “If he doesn’t know what happened when he should have known in the first place, he’s not fit for purpose and needs to resign.”
The latest interview with the governor is A California mother made headlines after speaking out against Newsom’s bungled response to the Los Angeles fires.
Player Rachel Darvish told Fox News that she was furious with California’s governor because he was busy responding when he was cornered.
Newsom claimed at the time that he was trying to reach President Biden by phone, but said he had no cell phone service, which Darvish argued showed mismanagement of the crisis.
Meanwhile, Bass is under increasing pressure as homes and businesses burn down and thousands of people are forced to evacuate from the city’s most exclusive enclaves.
But she remained silent when a Sky News reporter posed questions such as: “Do I owe the public an apology for being absent while my house was on fire?”
As the mayor remained expressionless, the reporter continued, “Mayor, do you regret cutting the fire department’s budget by millions of dollars?” Don’t you have nothing to say today? ”
Still not getting any answers, the reporter asked again, “Do you have anything to say to the people today?” Elon Musk says you are completely incompetent. Are you reconsidering your position? ”
Despite the questions, Bass remained completely silent for almost a minute before walking away from the interviewer.
A Change.org petition calling for her immediate resignation has now passed 91,000 signatures.
And she’s facing even more criticism today after posting a video message to X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram during a visit to fire headquarters, despite the ongoing disaster It also includes ridicule for her smiling appearance.
Bass captioned the video: “Here on the ground in Sylmar, we have been briefed on the continuing efforts to combat the Hearst Fire.”
“Thanks to the courageous efforts of the @losangeles Fire Department and other departments, the fire is 76% contained.”
Replies included derogatory comments such as, “Professional advice is that as a leader you should not smile during the worst disaster in California history.”
Some wrote messages such as “We do not support your resignation” and “Does she even care?” no way! “Did you just go out to take pictures?” Act like you’re doing something. we are not stupid. Please leave the board. no one needs you.
Another criticism of the mayor and other local leaders came from Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, who said city leaders had failed to provide adequate funding for firefighting efforts, and that the department’s He said he was unable to fulfill his role.
She also criticized the water shortage, saying, “When firefighters come to the hydrant, we expect there will be water.”
The Los Angeles Times first reported that the reservoir had been closed for repairs in recent weeks after damage to the cover used to maintain water quality occurred.
Airlifting of the reservoir began in February last year after debris entered the water supply due to a tear in the water supply cover, and it is said that it was subsequently drained in April and bids for repairs were invited, but the status of the response is unclear. It remains as it is.
Fire hydrants on high-altitude streets have also run dry and firefighters are struggling with low pressure.
