As cataclysmic wildfires rage across Los Angeles, US president-elect Donald Trump hasn’t been offering much sympathy. Instead, he’s claiming he could do a better job managing the crisis, spewing falsehoods and casting blame on the state’s Democratic governor.
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Trump has lashed out at his long-time political foe Gov. Gavin Newsom’s forest management policies and falsely claimed the state’s fish conservation efforts are responsible for fire hydrants running dry in urban areas.
Referring to the governor by a derisive nickname, Trump said he should resign.
Meanwhile, more than 180,000 people have been under evacuation orders and the fires have consumed more than 116 sq km (45 square miles). One that destroyed the neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades became the most destructive blaze in Los Angeles history.
Trump vs Newsom: Round 2 was to be expected – the liberal Democrat has long been one of Trump’s biggest foils.
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But the Western fires are also a sign of something far more grave than a political spat or a fight over fish. Wildfire season is growing ever longer thanks to increasing drought and heat brought on by climate change.