California Governor Gavin Newsom deflected the blame when asked about the public’s anger over his administration’s response to the devastating Los Angeles wildfire, saying that local leaders and his own team failed to provide him with a clear picture of the situation.
The Democratic leader suggested he could not get “straight answers” about what went wrong as “finger-pointing” amid the ongoing disaster hampered his response.
“So, I’m the governor of California and wanna know the answer. I’ve got that question, I can’t tell you, by how many people, ‘What happened?’ – on my own team, ‘What happened?’… I’ll be candid with you, I wasn’t getting straight answers,” Newsom said during an interview on “Pod Save America.”
Also read | Biden silences media during California wildfires briefing, grabs attention by whistling loudly
The co-host of the podcast, Jon Favreau, mentioned how many residents are “so angry” over his handling of the destructive inferno and asked him to respond as the person who is “ultimately responsible” for the state.
“We had my team start talking to local leaders, saying, ‘What’s going on?’” Newsom began. He added that he was getting “different answers”.
“When you start getting different answers, then I’m not getting the actual story,” he said.
Also read | Los Angeles wildfire updates: 11 dead, over 144,000 evacuated; Mayor Karen Bass faces resignation calls
Newsom admitted that he has been giving “a little bit of grace” to these leaders as they are assessing the “emergency environment”. He also said that he wouldn’t have a “sober” evaluation of the situation until the fires are brought under control.
The governor also noted that the state brought dozens of helicopters and prepositioned engines, bulldozers and personnel to six counties over the weekend to prepare for the strong Santa Ana winds.
Newsom also pointed a finger at President-elect Donald Trump, who earlier said that Newsom is not doing “a good job” of handling the crisis in California. Trump also claimed that California was not taking advantage of ocean water to extinguish the wildfires as they were trying to protect marine life.
Also read | LA wildfires: 'Heartbroken' Angelina Jolie opens her home for those who have lost their homes
“It’s words. It’s a salad. It’s the form and substance of fog. It’s made up. It’s delusional and it’s a consistent mantra from Trump going back years and years and years, and it’s reinforced over and over and over within the right wing,” Newsom said, adding that Trump was adding misinformation “into this crisis in a profoundly demeaning and damaging way.”
California wildfires
The death toll has risen to 16 due to the series of devastating fires in Los Angeles, according to officials. The Palisades Fire expanded to another 1,000 acres on Saturday (Jan 11), burning a total of 23,654 acres with 11 per cent containment. Over 153,000 people were under evacuation orders while 57,000 structures are at risk. Additional evacuation warnings for over 166,000 have been issued.
According to Cal Fire, about 38,000 acres of land have been consumed by the fires, with the Palisades Fire becoming the most destructive in the history of Los Angeles.
Also read | LA wildfires: What caused the inferno that has already destroyed 10,000 properties?
An investigation led by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives will be conducted into what started the Palisades Fire.
(With inputs from agencies)