California wildfires: Donald Trump blames Governor Gavin Newsom, failure to pump water to south for blaze

President-elect Donald Trump has laid the blame for the deadly California wildfires that have so far killed five people and destroyed over 1100 structures at the feet of one man.

Fierce winds on Wednesday were hindering firefighting operations and fueling the fires, which have burned unimpeded since they began the day before.

A lack of water also hampered efforts, particularly in Pacific Palisades, an upscale coastal enclave where a wildfire has consumed nearly 4900 hectares.

Speaking out on Truth Social, the former president, who will return to office in just over 10 days, accused Mr Newsom of failing to pump water from California’s north to the much drier south, which Mr Trump says created “a true disaster”.

“Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow from the north, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” Mr Trump posted on the social media platform.

“He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California.

“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 the blame for this.

“On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, (or) firefighting planes. A true disaster!”

In a series of follow on posts, Mr Trump lumped additional criticism on Mr Newsom, as well as blame for President Joe Biden.

Highlighting the skyrocketing cost of damages, Mr Trump said insurance companies may be unable to help Americans, adding the issue showed “incompetence and mismanagement” from Mr Biden and Mr Newsom.

“The fires in Los Angeles may go down, in dollar amount, as the worst in the history of our country,” Mr Trump wrote.

“In many circles, they’re doubting whether insurance companies will even have enough money to pay for this catastrophe.

“Let this serve, and be emblematic, of the gross incompetence and mismanagement of the Biden/Newscum duo.

“January 20th cannot come fast enough!”

Mr Biden has approved a major disaster declaration for California, which will give impacted Americans access to funds and resources for recovery. He has also approved federal funding that will be given to the state of California for costs associated with fighting the blaze.

“We are prepared to do anything and everything as long as it takes to contain these fires,” Mr Biden said at a news briefing.

“It’s going to be a hell of a long way. It’s going to take time.”

- With Reuters