A clip of California Governor Gavin Newsom being confronted by a Palisades resident over the response to the Los Angeles wildfires has gone viral.
Why It Matters
Los Angeles officials and Newsom, a Democrat, are continuing to receive criticism from local residents and political figures such as President-elect Donald Trump over the preparation and response to the wildfires that have killed at least 10 people and destroyed around 10,000 properties.
What to Know
A Sky News crew captured the moment that Palisades resident Rachel Darvish confronted Newsom in the street on Thursday.
Darvish spoke to the governor about what he was doing to tackle the major wildfires in Palisades, believed to be the most destructive in Los Angeles' history.
The clip was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Trump's rapid response director, Jake Schneider, where it has been viewed more than 800,000 times.
Newsom told Darvish that he was trying to reach President Joe Biden to discuss the response, but the lack of cellphone coverage meant he was unable to get through to the White House.
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.
"But you're not," Darvish said. "There's water dripping over there. Governor, there's water coming out there. You can use it."
Darvish then asked Newsom if she could "have an opportunity to at least tell people you're doing what you're saying you're doing."
WOW. This woman literally ran up to Gavin Newsom on the street and demanded answers on his disastrous wildfires response — and she was NOT taking no for an answer. Good for her. pic.twitter.com/GNjUATtKXt
— Jake Schneider (@jacobkschneider) January 9, 2025Izzy Gardon, Newsom's director of communications, told Newsweek that the governor got through to Biden after speaking to Darvish. The president then announced that the federal government would cover 100 percent of costs for the response to the Los Angeles wildfires for at least 180 days, up from the traditional 75 percent.
Gardon added she later spoke with Darvish to connect her with recovery services and other information.
Local residents and political figures have expressed their anger at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) as fire hydrants in Palisades ran dry while the wildfire swept through the area.
Janisse Quiñones, chief executive and chief engineer of DWP, said the water supply issue was due to "tremendous demand."
The Palisades fire is burning across nearly 20,000 acres and was 6 percent contained as of late Thursday evening, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL Fire).
What People Are Saying
Trump's rapid response director Jake Schneider posted on X: "WOW. This woman literally ran up to Gavin Newsom on the street and demanded answers on his disastrous wildfires response—and she was NOT taking no for an answer. Good for her."
Izzy Gardon, Newsom's director of communications, told Newsweek: "After hearing from Rachel, the Governor immediately spoke to President Biden and as a result of that call the President committed to covering 100 percent of the response costs for the next 180 days. That's a game-changer. I also just spoke with Rachel and I'm working to connect her with recovery services, local support, and provide the latest information.
"Her entire community has been decimated. She doesn't know if her home is still standing. Her children's schools are gone. The horrors of this fire are simply beyond scale."
President-elect Donald Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday: "Governor Gavin Newscum should immediately go to Northern California and open up the water main, and let the water flow into his dry, starving, burning state instead of having it go out into the Pacific Ocean. It ought to be done right now, NO MORE EXCUSES FROM THIS INCOMPETENT GOVERNOR. IT'S ALREADY FAR TOO LATE!"
Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park, who represents The 11th district which includes Pacific Palisades, said at a Wednesday news conference: "The chronic underinvestment in the city of Los Angeles in our public infrastructure and our public safety partners was evident and on full display over the last 24 hours. I am extremely concerned about this. I'm already working with my team to take a closer look at this, and I think we've got more questions than answers at this point."
Janisse Quiñones, chief executive and chief engineer of DWP, at a Wednesday conference: "We had tremendous demand on our system in the Palisades. We pushed the system to the extreme. Four times the normal demand was seen for 15 hours straight, which lowered our water pressure."
What Happens Next
The National Weather Service (NWS) has extended the red flag warning, meaning that warm temperatures and strong winds could increase the risk of fire danger across the Los Angeles area through Friday evening.
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