Trump’s Erroneous Claims about the Los Angeles Fire Response, Debunked

image via New Scientist

January 10, 2025, 5:45 PM

• •Trump is incorrect that California has a water restoration declaration that would allow millions of gallons of water to flow into the state.
• •Newsom would be hard-pressed to open up the water main and let water flow into California from the north.
• •Much of California’s water does flow into the Pacific Ocean, but it is reserved for environmental uses.

President-elect Trump has incorrectly blamed California water management for the destruction from the recent fires in the Los Angeles area. He claimed that Gov. Gavin Newsom refused to sign a water restoration declaration that would have allowed millions of gallons of water to flow into California, but there is no such document. In fact, Southern California's cities do depend on snowmelt in the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Delta pumps for about 30 percent of their water supplies. However, much of the water in California does flow into the Pacific Ocean, and LA's fire hydrants ran dry Tuesday night because there was tremendous demand.

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