The death toll has climbed to 16 as of Saturday evening. LA County has declared a local health emergency as over 40,000 acres have burned, according to Cal Fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President-elect Donald Trump blasted California and Los Angeles officials for their handling of the wildfires that have been raging for nearly a week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe fires are still raging in L.A.,\u201d Trump wrote on Truth Social<\/u><\/a> early Sunday morning. \u201cThe incompetent pols have no idea how to put them out. Thousands of magnificent houses are gone, and many more will soon be lost. There is death all over the place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said that this is turning out to be \u201cone of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey just can\u2019t put out the fires. What\u2019s wrong with them?\u201d he continued, according to The Hill<\/u><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week Trump wrote on Truth Social that \u201cGovernor 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 melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNO WATER IN THE FIRE HYDRANTS, NO MONEY IN FEMA. THIS IS WHAT JOE BIDEN IS LEAVING ME. THANKS JOE!\u201d Trump posted later that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Newsom pushed back on X<\/u><\/a> regarding Trump\u2019s claim about the water restoration declaration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Newsweek, among others, fact-checked the claim<\/u><\/a> about the water restoration declaration and concluded, “The notion that Newsom therefore turned down a ‘declaration,’ referring to federal action that Trump introduced anyway, is not accurate. However, it is clear that the governor has opposed Trump’s actions on water policy, drawing a sharp response from Trump in turn.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The death toll has climbed to 16<\/u><\/a> as of Saturday evening. LA County has declared a local health emergency as over \u200240,000 acres<\/u><\/a> have burned, according to Cal Fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While this is clearly a combination of natural and environmental phenomenon, arson<\/u><\/a>, and government failure and mismanagement, this catastrophe will be analyzed and characterized for decades to come, often through a political lens as the region and the country come to grips with the realities and implications on the ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n