A WOMAN FROM the fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles has offered to “fill up the hydrants myself” as she confronted California Governor Gavin Newsom over his response to the disaster.
Rachel Darvish, a lawyer who has lived in the Palisades all her life, was forced to flee her home along with many thousands of others because of the devastating flames.
Out-of-control wildfires are continuing to rip across parts of Los Angeles, leading to at least 10 deaths and the destruction of over 10,000 structures, as well as evacuation orders for nearly 180,000 residents across the city.
Despite the efforts of over 1,400 firefighters, the biggest blazes remain totally uncontained – with weather conditions and the underlying impact of climate change expected to continue fanning the flames for days to come.
'Can I hear your call to the President, because I don't believe it.'
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 9, 2025
This is the moment a woman in LA confronted the California Governor Gavin Newsom over the wildfires. https://t.co/g1yZAnHJkc
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/rMLDGfkRo4
In the video, LA-based mother Darvish approached Newsom, saying that her daughter’s school had burned down due to wildfires.
She demanded to know what action Newsom was taking in the battle against the blaze, and asked to join the phone call to President Biden that the governor was trying to make at the time.
Darvish questioned why fire hydrants in the Palisades ran out of water while firefighters were tackling the huge blazes. She told the governor that she would “fill up hydrants myself” and asked Newsom if he would do the same. “I would do whatever I can,” Newsom replied.
A spokesperson for Newsom has since told US media that the governor got through to Biden after speaking to the affected Darvish, with the US president announcing that the federal government would cover 100% of costs for the response to the Los Angeles wildfires for at least 6 months.
The spokesperson also told reporters that they later spoke with Darvish to connect her with recovery services and other information.
Governor Gavin Newsom has addressed the public several times in recent days, saying that the state and national government are “throwing everything at our disposal” to tackle the wildfires.
Newsom has also overseen the deployment of the National Guard service members in affected areas “to protect communities in the days to come”.
Los Angeles officials and Newsom continue to receive criticism from local residents and political figures such as President-elect Donald Trump over the preparation and response to the wildfires.
In a social media post yesterday, Trump took aim at Los Angeles Mayor Bass and Gavin Newsom – both Democrats – for what he described as “gross incompetence” in dealing with the fires.
“One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!,” he wrote, misspelling the governor’s name in an apparent jab.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has also faced questions about her leadership during the ongoing wildfires, which are still spread across Los Angeles.
Bass was away from the city on a planned diplomatic trip to Ghana when the Palisades Fire first erupted on Monday, and has been hit by critics for her leadership during the disaster.
Rick Carusoa, a Republican mayoral opponent to Bass in the 2022 elections, has accused her of “abandoning her post” in an interview with Politico.
The mayor, who did post a warning about the windstorm on social media Monday, declined to respond to a reporter earlier this week when why she did not return to the city “fast enough”.
On her return two days ago, Bass was confronted at the airport by a Sky News reporter, who asked if she owed Angelenos an apology for her absence during the fires.
Bass refused to answer as the reporter followed her down the gangway.
At a press conference yesterday, Bass stated that her “number one focus” was to “save lives and save homes”.
“When that is done, when lives have been saved and homes have been saved, we will absolutely do an evaluation to look at what worked, and what didn’t work, and to correct or to hold accountable any body, department, individual, etc.,” Bass said.
“But my focus right now is on the lives and on the homes.”
According to US media, it is unclear when Bass was informed about the fires and decided to return to California.
Bass had left Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson as mayor pro tempore in her absence.
At a news conference Wednesday morning, Harris-Dawson acknowledged the work of the first responders doing “heroic work in the face of grave danger.”
“Last night was one of the most devastating and terrifying nights that we’ve seen in any part of our city, at any part of our history,” he said.
On Wednesday night, Bass told reporters she had been in “constant contact” with local, federal, and county officials marshaling the response to the fires as she made her way back to the United States.
“I took the fastest route back which included being on a military plane which facilitated our communications. So, I was able to be on the phone the entire time of the flight,” Bass said, adding she also had phone access during her commercial flight “like most people do.”
“I was on the phone on the plane almost every hour of the flight. So, although I was not physically here, I was in contact with many of the individuals that are standing here throughout the entire time when my flight landed, immediately went to the fire zone and saw what happened in Pacific Palisades.”
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna announced several measures yesterday to ramp up security in areas that have been evacuated because of devastating fires in the area.
More than 20 arrests have been made on suspicion of looting over the last few days.
“The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has officially requested the support of the California National Guard for both fires,” Luna said. “They will be assisting us with traffic control and critical infrastructure protection.
“Having additional resources, having the National Guard with us,” he added, “will help send a stronger message, keep people out of the impacted areas, so we don’t continuously victimize the people who have already been victimized.”
The sheriff also said the agency was working to implement a curfew that would run from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. “within the specific impacted areas around the two fire areas,” he said, referring to the Palisades fire in Pacific Palisades and the Eaton fire, the worst of the five blazes impacting the city.
He said he hoped to have it in place by this evening.
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger emphasized that the curfew was not to punish residents but to keep the area safe.
Newsom also spoke out strongly against those taking advantage of affected areas.
“And to those who would seek to take advantage of evacuated communities, let me be clear: looting will not be tolerated,” the state governor said.
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