As wild raging fires continue to engulf the Los Angeles state, tensions have flared among leaders and management tasked with managing the crisis.

United States president-elect Donald Trump has been accused of uttering falsehoods against the democratic state governor, Gavin Newsom.

Earlier reports indicated that Trump blamed President Joe Biden and California Governor Gavin Newsom for the wildfires raging in Los Angeles that have killed at least 10 people and forced tens of thousands to evacuate their homes.

According to Trump, Newsom “wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California.

“Governor Gavin Newsom refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snowmelt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” Trump said on X.

Countering Trump’s bold assertions, Newsom’s director of communications, Izzy Gardon, accused Trump of ‘playing politics’ while the wildfires continued to wreak havoc in Southern California.

“There is no such document as the water restoration declaration—that is pure fiction. The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need,” Gardon said.

Trump called out Governor Newsom to hand over his resignation on his Truth Social account on X.

“One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground. Its ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!” he said.

As crews battled infernos across the county, a new brush fire, which authorities now call ‘the sunset fire,’ ignited in Hollywood Hills Wednesday evening.

According to Cal Fire and the Los Angeles Fire Department, the Sunset Fire scorched 60 acres of land prompting a mandatory evacuation order.

Meanwhile, the Palisades Fire grew to 20,000 acres by yesterday, Thursday, January 9, 2025 an increase from 15,832 acres earlier in the day.

President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration on Wednesday, and Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as firefighters struggled to control the fires.

According to Governor Gavin Newsom, nearly 5,000 first responders were on the ground, including crews from Oregon, New Mexico, and Washington State.

Later Wednesday, the governor’s office said over 7,500 firefighting and emergency personnel were deployed to the region. The state also mobilized up to 140 2,500-gallon water tenders to assist with the Eaton and Palisades fires.