Elon Musk and Donald Trump spread disinformation as wildfires rage in the LA area

As fires rage crossed Los Angeles and tens of thousands fly their homes, the accustomed suspects person decided to blasted the blazes connected their governmental enemies. In a bid of posts connected Truth Social, President-elect Donald Trump claimed firefighters’ inability to get the fires nether power was owed to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s h2o policies, including an effort to “protect an fundamentally worthless food called a smelt, by giving it little h2o (it didn’t work!).” Meanwhile, connected X, Elon Musk suggested that the fires were spreading owed to the metropolis occurrence chief’s committedness to diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. “DEI intends group DIE,” Musk wrote successful a Wednesday nighttime post.

Five group person so died successful the Eaton occurrence frankincense far, and upward of 130,000 Los Angeles County residents are nether removal orders, according to the Los Angeles Times. But the rampant dispersed of the fires isn’t owed to the delta smelt, DEI, aliases moreover — arsenic Trump, Musk, and scores of mainstream publications person falsely claimed — cuts to the Los Angeles Fire Department’s budget. These claims aren’t without consequence. Last year, FEMA workers received threats connected TikTok and different societal media platforms arsenic rampant disinformation dispersed successful the aftermath of the devastation caused by hurricanes Milton and Helene.

The first activity of disinformation focused connected occurrence hydrants successful the Pacific Palisades, which abruptly ran retired of h2o connected Tuesday nighttime arsenic firefighters attempted to put retired the first blaze. The hydrants, Trump said, were moving barren because of Newsom’s h2o policies. “I will request that this incompetent politician let beautiful, clean, caller h2o to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA!” Trump posted connected Truth Social connected Wednesday. “He is the blasted for this. On apical of it all, nary h2o for occurrence hydrants, not firefighting planes. A existent disaster!” In a abstracted post, Trump claimed Newsom had “refused to motion the h2o restoration declaration put earlier him that would person allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rainfall and snowfall melt from the North, to travel regular into galore parts of California, including the areas that are presently burning successful a virtually apocalyptic way.”

Newsom’s agency responded connected Wednesday, clarifying that the declaration Trump referred to successful his station didn’t exist. “There is nary specified archive arsenic the h2o restoration declaration – that is axenic fiction,” Newsom communications head Izzy Gardon told CalMatters. “The Governor is focused connected protecting people, not playing politics, and making judge firefighters person each the resources they need.” 

Mark Gold, a committee personnel of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, told the outlet that statewide h2o guidance policies, including efforts to protect the delta smelt, had thing to do pinch the deficiency of h2o successful the hydrants. “Tying Bay-Delta guidance into devastating wildfires that person costs people’s lives and homes is thing short of irresponsible, and it’s happening astatine a clip erstwhile the Metropolitan Water District has the astir h2o stored successful its strategy successful the history of the agency,” Gold said. “It’s not a matter of having capable h2o coming from Northern California to put retired a fire. It’s astir the continued devastating impacts of a changing climate.”

The deficiency of h2o successful the Pacific Palisades hydrants was alternatively owed to a simplification successful h2o unit caused by accrued demand, the LA Times reported. Janisse Quiñones, the main executive and main technologist of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, told the insubstantial that truthful overmuch h2o was being utilized that the inferior wasn’t capable to capable the tanks quickly enough. The request for h2o astatine little elevations was besides preventing the inferior from refilling tanks astatine higher elevations, according to the LA Times.

Wednesday night, arsenic powerful Santa Ana winds dispersed the fires to Altadena, Pasadena, and the Hollywood Hills, right-wing influencers accused metropolis officials of slashing the occurrence department’s fund and prioritizing diverseness programs complete sound occurrence prevention argumentation — which Musk reposted connected X. 

But as Politico pointed out, Los Angeles politician Karen Bass didn’t trim $23 cardinal from the occurrence department’s budget, a declare that has been repeated by critics connected some the correct and the left, immoderate of whom said Bass trim occurrence section backing to salary for a caller constabulary contract. The occurrence department’s fund really accrued by much than $50 cardinal complete the erstwhile year, according to Politico, though others person noted that LA occurrence main Kristin Crowley criticized Bass’ determination to trim $7 cardinal from the department’s overtime fund conscionable a fewer weeks earlier the Palisades fire. “The simplification … has severely constricted the department’s capacity to hole for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires,” Crowley wrote successful a December 4th memo.