A Colorado woman learned her husband was buried by an avalanche after he never checked in as planned, and she began searching for him under the snow. 

Donald Moden Jr., a 57-year-old veteran skier who was once a member of the Ouray Mountain Rescue Team, was killed on Jan. 7 in an area off Red Mountain Pass known as "Bollywood," the Ouray County Plaindealer reported. 

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) wrote in a report that the 57-year-old was likely buried for more than four hours before he was found. 

The avalanche was 800 feet wide and traveled 400 feet vertically, the agency wrote. 

TEEN DEAD AT SKI RESORT NEAR POSH MOUNTAIN TOWN

Moden's wife contacted the Ouray County Sheriff's Office when her husband didn't check in as planned, then went to the trailhead herself. She turned on her avalanche transceiver and immediately got a response from her husband's transceiver, The Colorado Sun reported. She immediately found him with an avalanche probe and called out to surrounding skiers for help. 

In addition to his transceiver, the outlet reported, Moden was wearing an avalanche airbag backpack that never deployed. 

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He was likely skiing downhill when he was engulfed by the snowslide, the CAIC said, and was on his seventh run of the day. He was buried too deeply to rescue himself, they wrote.

"He had skied on Red Mountain Pass for 16 years and knew the terrain on Red Number 3 well," the report read. "He chose his terrain as appropriate for the day based on his previous experience of the slope and the snowpack."

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Moden skied on an adjacent slope a day earlier and probably did not see signs of dangerous snowpack, the CAIC said. 

Moden's death is the first reported avalanche fatality in Colorado this ski season. Since Nov. 9, the CAIC has reported 25 backcountry skiiers and travelers caught in 23 different avalanches.

Seven of those victims were buried in snow and debris. According to the Colorado Sun, those numbers are not notably higher than those in previous seasons.

Over the last several decades, various types of natural disasters have wreaked havoc around the U.S., but which cataclysms have cost the most?

The National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) lists hundreds of costly disasters that occurred from 1980 through 2024.

"The U.S. has sustained 403 weather and climate disasters since 1980 where overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 billion (including CPI adjustment to 2024). The total cost of these 403 events exceeds $2.915 trillion," the NCEI notes.

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Hurricanes occupy nine of the top 10 spots on the "Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters" list. 

Cost estimates provided by NCEI are not precise – there are various figures reported for the disasters on the list, including the CPI-adjusted estimated cost, as well as lower and upper bounds at 75%, 90%, and 95% confidence intervals. 

Topping the list with an estimated CPI-adjusted cost of $201.3 billion is Hurricane Katrina, which slammed the U.S. in 2005. The lower bound for the cost at the 95% confidence interval is $151.3 billion while the upper bound is $242.8 billion.

"Category 3 hurricane initially impacts the U.S. as a Category 1 near Miami, FL, then as a strong Category 3 along the eastern LA-western MS coastlines, resulting in severe storm surge damage (maximum surge probably exceeded 30 feet) along the LA-MS-AL coasts, wind damage, and the failure of parts of the levee system in New Orleans," a summary notes. "Inland effects included high winds and some flooding in the states of AL, MS, FL, TN, KY, IN, OH, and GA."

Hurricane Harvey, which hit the U.S. in 2017, is the second most costly disaster on the NCEI list, at an estimated CPI-adjusted $160 billion. The lower bound at the 95% confidence interval is $108.8 billion while the upper bound is $211.2 billion.

"Category 4 hurricane made landfall near Rockport, Texas, causing widespread damage. Harvey's devastation was most pronounced due to the large region of extreme rainfall producing historic flooding across Houston and surrounding areas," part of the summary states.

The third-costliest disaster on the NCEI list is 2022 Hurricane Ian at $119.6 billion, adjusted for CPI. The lower bound at the 95% confidence interval is $83 billion while the upper bound is $155 billion.

"Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa, Florida, as a Category 4 Hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph," and "slowly crossed Florida" before it "re-emerged over the Atlantic as a tropical storm, re-intensified into a Category 1 hurricane on September 30, and made landfall near Georgetown, SC, with sustained winds of 85 mph causing more coastal flood damage and destroying several large piers near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina," the description notes.

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Ian is followed on the list by Hurricanes Maria (2017 – $115.2 billion), Sandy (2012 – $88.5 billion), Ida (2021 – $84.6 billion), Helene (2024 –  $78.7 billion), Irma (2017 – $64 billion) and Andrew (1992 – $60.5 billion).

A "U.S. Drought/Heat Wave" in 1988 is listed as the 10th-costliest disaster on the list, with an estimated CPI-adjusted cost of $54.6 billion.

"1988 drought across a large portion of the U.S. with very severe losses to agriculture and related industries. Combined direct and indirect deaths (i.e., excess mortality) due to heat stress estimated at 5,000," the summary notes.

While many Americans have been paying attention to the horrific fires devouring parts of California since last week, wildfires do not make it into the top 10 of the NCEI's list.

In that category, NCEI indicates fires in 2018 were the costliest, listing "Western Wildfires, California Firestorm," at an estimated $30 billion, CPI-adjusted. 

The Camp fire in 2018 tops the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's (CAL FIRE) lists for "Top 20 Deadliest California Wildfires" and "Top 20 Most Destructive California Wildfires." The fire resulted in 85 deaths and destroyed 18,804 structures, CAL FIRE indicates.

The January 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires have already landed at spots three and four on the list of most destructive state wildfires, with 5,316 structures destroyed in the Palisades Fire and more than 5,000 destroyed in the Eaton Fire, though the figures are not final.

LOS ANGELES FIRES: MORE THAN 10,000 HOMES AND BUSINESSES DESTROYED, AT LEAST 10 DEAD

AccuWeather's preliminary estimate for the damage and economic loss associated with the fires ravaging parts of California is $135 billion to $150 billion. 

AccuWeather estimates $13 billion to $16 billion for the 2023 Maui wildfires and $225 billion to $250 billion for 2024 Hurricane Helene. The NCEI lists the 2023 Maui fire as "Hawaii Firestorm" and indicates an estimated CPI-adjusted cost of $5.7 billion.

A California family's unshaken faith emerged in the form of a lone statue of The Virgin Mary — untouched by the relentless flames of southern California's wildfires — her resilience amid the smoldering ruins leading them to sing in praise.

"It was remarkable how everything had gotten fried, but the statue of The Virgin Mary and another statue of Saint Joseph were in perfect condition," Peter Halpin, the family patriarch, told 'Fox & Friends Weekend' on Sunday. 

"Obviously, they were a little singed, but we just took that opportunity to pray," he continued. "Our home is dedicated to the sacred heart of Jesus and always has been and all my family members, my extended family, so we said a prayer to the sacred heart of Jesus, and then we sang that special song that our entire family has known for decades to The Blessed Virgin, and it was a remarkable thing."

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According to Halpin, the family "broke the law" by visiting what remained of their home of 37 years last week. When they discovered that the deadly Eaton fire had diminished the rest to rubble, they leaned on faith, singing in praise alongside their six children and other loved ones in a since-viral video posted to Instagram.

"Our intention was not for this thing to go viral at all," he continued. "It was pretty much just a family thing, but the response from the community has been unbelievable and so heartfelt."

Peter's wife Jackie said she fell to her knees in emotion after her son-in-law snuck up to the site of the home the day before, snapping a photo that revealed the statue was still standing.

She knew then they had to make their own pilgrimage to the site to thank God for the years they spent there.

CALIFORNIANS ‘ANGRY’ AMID DEVASTATING WILDFIRES, ASKING WHERE HIGH TAX DOLLARS WENT: LOCAL RESEARCHER

"That was my intention," she said. "We're going to pray. We're going to thank God that we're safe, and we have entertained a lot for years. We feel very strongly in the virtue of hospitality, so I just wanted to pray and say, ‘If we can do it again, that would be great.’ 

"The song [in the video] kind of came about on its own, so I just wanted to pray. I just want to be grateful as much as I can for what we've had."

Wildfires continue to tear through southern California with no end in sight, devastating communities and claiming 16 lives so far. 

More than 92,000 people have signed a Change.org petition as of Sunday morning demanding the resignation of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass as wildfires in the area continue to rage on. 

The petition was started by a user named "Frustrated Californian" who accused Bass of "gross mismanagement" during the natural disaster crisis, and even called her out for not being in the country when the fires started.

Bass took major heat for traveling overseas to Ghana last week, which meant she was thousands of miles away from her city during the initial day of the destruction on Tuesday. 

"Water supplies have been severely strained, billions of taxpayer dollars have been misallocated or left unaccounted for, and countless lives have been lost," the petition reads. 

FLASHBACK: LA MAYOR KAREN BASS WAS ONCE CONSIDERED TOP VP CHOICE BY BIDEN, PRAISED BY OBAMA AS ‘OUTSTANDING’

There are currently five active wildfires in Los Angeles County — Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth, Hurst and Archer.

Bass has been active on social media since her return to the U.S., with her latest post on X and Facebook on Saturday evening.

"Angelenos, we're still going through it and to any of you and all of you that have experienced a loss, the grief, the anger, the just utter shock. I've seen the devastation. It is unbelievable the amount of loss that people have experienced, but we have to get through this crisis and I know that we will," she said in a minute-long video.  

AURORA CULPO RIPS DEMOCRATIC LEADERS FOR LACK OF WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS, CALLS ON NEWSOM, BASS TO RESIGN

Prior to drawing intense public scrutiny for her response to handling the wildfires ravaging Los Angeles, Bass was held in the highest esteem by the Democratic Party’s most prominent figures.

President Biden once considered Bass to be a top contender for his vice presidential running mate in 2020, while former President Barack Obama previously predicted that she would be an "outstanding mayor" of the city.

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Patricia Heaton and Jillian Michaels are among vocal celebrities providing government officials with scathing reviews.

"This disaster did not come out of left field," Aurora Culpo, host of the podcast "Barely Filtered," told Fox News Digital. "We were well aware of the possibility for fire, and we had the preparedness of a third world country in a place that pays some of the highest taxes in the world. Those in power should be forced to take responsibility and resign."

FOX News' Gabriel Hays and Gabrielle Regalbuto contributed to this report. 

Filmmaker and former "Family Ties" star Justine Bateman ripped Los Angeles County officials for their apparent mismanagement and lack of preparedness for the wildfires still ripping through parts of the city.

"I'm pretty pissed, and I think a lot of people in Los Angeles are pissed," Bateman told "Jesse Watters Primetime" Thursday, insisting that city leaders should be better at handling these types of situations.

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES DEVASTATE LOS ANGELES COUNTY, DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF HOMES

The Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Hurst Fire, Lidia Fire and the Sunset Fire have ravaged LA County. As of Friday, officials had reported that the death toll was at least 11 and the fires had burned more than 36,000 acres and destroyed over 10,000 structures.

"If you are going to run a city or run a state, you have to take care of the basics, and that's to make sure that your fire and your police department are well-funded," the filmmaker said, stressing the importance of having "rehearsed" planning in place to hopefully minimize the consequences of natural disasters. For California, that includes wildfires, earthquakes, heavy rain and consequent mudslides.

Bateman argued California's elected officials are ‘’incapable'' of planning for these major events, saying they are "useless" if they are not doing everything in their power to tackle disasters before they occur.

"If you can't cover the basics, get out of our city. You are useless to us. You are a liability and you have destroyed people's lives because you didn't do your job," she said. "You didn't do what you were hired for. You didn't do what we pay you for." Bateman added officials should "resign out of shame and responsibility for the people whose lives you've destroyed right now."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have received major backlash over their handling of the rampant fires. One resident was caught on video confronting Newsom, demanding "tell me what you're going to do" regarding fire preparations and recovery efforts.

On whether Newsom or Bass knew they were "incompetent," Bateman argued that people that are incapable "don't understand" they're incompetent.

She acknowledged the "incredibly unusual" windy weather that swept through the LA area, causing further inferno and added difficulty for firefighters working to extinguish the flames.

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: POLICE SHOOT DOWN CELEBRITIES FLOATING ARSON THEORIES

"If you know what's coming, you make sure that you are prepared for what might occur. And they weren't," Bateman said.

To prevent further catastrophic damage from natural disasters in the future, Bateman stressed how voters need to approach elected officials.

"Stop looking for the ‘R’ and the ‘D’ next to these names. Just stop it. You need to look at the person. Do you think this person can do the job?," she said, highlighting how Californians have predominantly voted based off of the "D's" in the past. 

ESSENTIAL PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES-AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM

"We have voted in people who are not competent to handle these things. If somebody is competent and they've shown their competence, and they have a ‘D' next to them, fine, vote for them. If they have an ‘R’ next to their name, who cares, vote for them. Vote for somebody you think can do this job," she said.

Bateman explained that when looking for a plumber, housekeeper, somebody to fix your car, or anyone you're getting a service from, you are looking at their "ratings" and not their political affiliations.

"You're asking other people who have had experience with them, do they do a good job? Please do that with the politicians, please. Or you see the results of it," she continued. 

Bateman expressed further concern over Los Angeles being able to host the 2028 Olympics with the current leadership's "inability to adequately prepare."

"If people want something to pray for, here's what you pray for. Pray that we don't have an earthquake in Los Angeles while these two people, Newsom and Bass, are in charge. Pray that we don't have an earthquake, because they will not be able to handle that," she said.

California does not have a water shortage, yet firefighters battling the brutal fires across Los Angeles are facing scarce resources to keep up with the blaze that has threatened thousands of lives, homes, land and wildlife. 

Meanwhile, critics challenge Gov. Gavin Newsom’s call to "not play politics," arguing that political mismanagement is precisely to blame.

"It's all political," Edward Ring, the director of water and energy policy for the California Policy Center think-tank, told Fox News Digital in an interview. "The entire cause is political, and they ironically politicize it by saying it's about climate change, which is a political wedge that they use all the time, which is really one of the least of the factors causing this."

Experts lay blame primarily on the state's handling of its forestry management and a lesser-known problem, the state's outdated water reserves system. California's existing reservoirs can only hold so much water, and many were built in the mid-20th century. 

Last year, the state experienced record-breaking rainfall after an atmospheric river event, but the existing water infrastructure faced difficulties managing the sudden influx of water. A significant portion of that rainfall was dumped into the ocean. 

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Ring also pointed to "environmentalist extremists" in the state who have pushed for heavier regulations like the Endangered Species Act, which requires freshwater to flow through rivers and into the Pacific Ocean to protect the endangered delta smelt and salmon. The mandates restrict how much water can be diverted to storage, even during wet years.

"There is plenty of water," Ring argues, but the primary challenge in transporting water south to farmers in the San Joaquin Valley and cities in Southern California isn’t infrastructure capacity—it’s environmental policies. He points to a "consensus among the bureaucrats and board directors" overseeing California’s water management that prioritizes keeping more water in rivers to support the endangered fish.

"That’s true as far as it goes," he said, but despite these efforts, the salmon and smelt populations have not recovered. Additionally, there is growing concern that sturgeon may soon be classified as endangered as well. 

"These endangered fish are being used as the reason to leave water in the rivers," he said.

PACIFIC PALISADES INFERNO FORCES THOUSANDS TO FLEE CALIFORNIA HOMES; GOV. NEWSOM DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY 

Urban areas, like Los Angeles, have highly developed drainage systems that channel stormwater directly into the ocean. They were originally designed with flood prevention in mind, not water storage, so this presents an additional challenge for the area. 

"They bring water in off of the California Aqueduct, and they import water into Los Angeles, and they haven't brought enough in there, and their reservoirs are depleted," Ring said. "But the biggest problem, because you're not going to drain even a half-full reservoir fighting a fire, is the water infrastructure in Los Angeles, and the water infrastructure in Los Angeles has been neglected. And the reason it's been neglected is that they want the money for other projects."

"The bottom line is they haven't spent money on it, and they've justified that by saying, we have to use less water," he continued. "And so they've been encouraging people, and in some cases, rationing, or even forcing people to use less water. And as a result, you don't have a system that's as robust."

One recent ex-California lawmaker said the state's lack of water infrastructure is "devastating California." 

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California voters passed Proposition 1 in 2014, also known as the Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure Improvement Act, which authorized $2.7 billion in bonds to increase the state's water storage capacity through building new reservoirs and groundwater storage facilities. Yet as of January 2025, no new reservoirs have been completed under Prop. 1.

"And here it's been all these years, and we haven't done a shovel full of dirt to move to make the project," Dahle said. "The project is just not funded, and we had $100 billion in surplus, and we didn't fund it. And so that's the frustrating part, I think, for most Californians, is that when we had the money, and we didn't do anything about it."

The largest of the wildfires, the Eaton Fire near Altadena and Pasadena, has scorched more than 27,000 acres, Cal Fire reported as of midday Thursday. 

When reached for comment, Newsom's spokesperson Izzy Gardon told Fox News Digital, "The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need."

President-elect Trump, during his first administration, put Gov. Gavin Newsom on notice for his handling of repeated wildfires in the state, years ahead of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires currently raging. 

"The Governor of California, @GavinNewsom, has done a terrible job of forest management. I told him from the first day we met that he must ‘clean’ his forest floors regardless of what his bosses, the environmentalists, DEMAND of him. Must also do burns and cut fire stoppers," the former and upcoming president posted to X in 2019. 

"Every year, as the fire’s rage & California burns, it is the same thing-and then he comes to the Federal Government for $$$ help. No more. Get your act together Governor. You don’t see close to the level of burn in other states," the thread continued. 

Trump’s message to Newsom came as the Kincade Fire raged in Sonoma County from Oct. 23 to Nov. 6, 2019. 

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES RAGE ACROSS LOS ANGELES COUNTY, FORCING THOUSANDS TO EVACUATE THEIR HOMES  

"We’re successfully waging war against thousands of fires started across the state in the last few weeks due to extreme weather created by climate change while Trump is conducting a full on assault against the antidotes," Newsom said in response to Trump’s message, the Washington Post reported at the time. 

Just roughly two weeks before Trump will be inaugurated as the nation's 47th president, he again took aim at Newsom's wildfire prevention leadership in the state, pinning blame for the LA County fires on Newsom and his environmental policies. 

"Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,"Trump posted to Truth Social on Wednesday. 

"He 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. Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!"

Newsom's director of communications Izzy Gardon told Fox Digital in response to Trump's Truth Social: "We’re focused on protecting lives and battling these blazes – not playing politics."

"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 added. 

PALISADES FIRE: HEIDI MONTAG, SPENCER PRATT LOSE HOME; CELEBRITIES FLEE RITZY NEIGHBORHOOD  

Trump has a long history of putting Newsom’s handling of wildfires under the microscope across his first four years in the White House, including in January 2019 when he threatened to cut off federal funds to California if reforms were not made to the state’s forest management services. 

"Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forest fires that, with proper Forest Management, would never happen. Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money!" he posted to X that year. 

PACIFIC PALISADES INFERNO FORCES THOUSANDS TO FLEE CALIFORNIA HOMES; GOV. NEWSOM DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY  

"There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!,"he added in 2018 on X. 

Newsom and other Democrats have historically pushed back that wildfires in the state are due to climate change and global warming. 

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"You don’t believe in climate change. You are excused from this conversation," Newsom shot back at Trump in 2019, for example, after the president slammed him for his wildfire leadership. 

California Republicans, however, have echoed Trump that Newsom and other Democrats in the state "failed" in addressing forestry management. 

"The Democrats who control this state, have been in charge of the legislature, and hold every statewide office have failed to take care of forestry management in California," Assemblyman James Gallagher said on Fox News in 2020. "We have overgrown forests with brush piles 10 feet high and dead and dying trees and it's a tinderbox waiting for a spark."

The California governor pledged in 2019 to reform California's approach to wildfire prevention, but a 2021 NPR investigation reported the governor overstated the efforts. 

"The investigation found Newsom overstated, by an astounding 690%, the number of acres treated with fuel breaks and prescribed burns in the very forestry projects he said needed to be prioritized to protect the state’s most vulnerable communities," Scott Rodd wrote of the findings in 2021. "Newsom has claimed that 35 ‘priority projects’ carried out as a result of his executive order resulted in fire prevention work on 90,000 acres. But the state’s own data show the actual number is 11,399."

The state pushed back on the report, saying their efforts on wildfire prevention were hampered by the pandemic, "along with an unprecedented wildfire season which pulled our already strained wildfire crews away from prevention work to firefighting work." 

"The notion that the Newsom administration is retreating on wildfire response – in dollars or actions – is wholly inaccurate," the governor’s office said after the investigation’s findings were released. 

The Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan has since achieved and begun working on 100% of its 99 key actions, with the state also hiring an additional 3,000 new firefighters to CAL FIRE since 2019. 

At least four wildfires are currently raging in Los Angeles County, tearing through the Pacific Palisades and Sylmar neighborhoods, as well as near Pasadena.

Newsom propositioned 65 fire engines, seven helicopters, nine bulldozers, and more than 105 specialized personnel in Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties ahead of the fire spiraling earlier this week. The National Guard was also deployed in response to the fire. 

"California has deployed 1400% firefighting personnel & hundreds of propositioned assets to combat these unprecedented fires in LA," Newsom said on X this week. "Emergency officials, firefighters, and first responders are all hands on deck through the night to do everything possible to protect lives." 

President-elect Trump pinned blame for the "apocalyptic" wildfires tearing through Los Angeles County on California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. 

"Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way," Trump posted on Truth Social late Wednesday morning. 

"He 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. Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!" 

At least four wildfires are currently raging in Los Angeles County, tearing through the Pacific Palisades and Sylmar neighborhoods of Los Angeles, as well as near Pasadena. At least 30,000 residents have evacuated the area, as swanky mansions and homes are threatened by the devastation or have already been incinerated. 

Newsom's director of communications Izzy Gardon told Fox Digital in response to Trump's Truth Social: "We’re focused on protecting lives and battling these blazes—not playing politics."

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES RAGE ACROSS LOS ANGELES COUNTY, FORCING THOUSANDS TO EVACUATE THEIR HOMES  

"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 in a follow-up comment.

Newsom declared a state of emergency after the Palisades Fire grew large on Tuesday. 

"This is a highly dangerous windstorm that's creating extreme fire risk — and we're not out of the woods. We're already seeing the destructive impacts with this fire in Pacific Palisades that grew rapidly in a matter of minutes," Newsom said in a statement. "Our deepest thanks go to our expert firefighters and first responders who jumped quickly into fighting this dangerous fire. If you're in Southern California, please pay attention to weather reports and follow any guidance from emergency officials."

Trump, while on the campaign trail last year, vowed to send more water to California if re-elected, saying he would tap a "large faucet" in the northern parts of the U.S., that would deliver water to the state. The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, one of the Golden State’s top water supply systems, has been fiercely protected by environmentalists over its dwindling smelt and Chinook salmon populations. 

"You have millions of gallons of water pouring down from the north with the snow caps and Canada, and all pouring down and they have essentially a very large faucet," Trump said in September. 

"You turn the faucet and it takes one day to turn it, and it’s massive, it’s as big as the wall of that building right there behind you. You turn that, and all of that water aimlessly goes into the Pacific (Ocean), and if they turned it back, all of that water would come right down here and right into Los Angeles," he said.

PALISADES FIRE: HEIDI MONTAG, SPENCER PRATT LOSE HOME; CELEBRITIES FLEE RITZY NEIGHBORHOOD  

During Trump's first administration, the former and upcoming president frequently put Newsom's leadership over wildfire prevention under the microscope, including threatening to withhold federal funds over the yearly fires.

PACIFIC PALISADES INFERNO FORCES THOUSANDS TO FLEE CALIFORNIA HOMES; GOV. NEWSOM DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY 

"There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!," Trump posted to X in 2018. 

Newsom and other Democrats have historically pushed back that wildfires in the state are due to climate change and global warming. 

"You don’t believe in climate change. You are excused from this conversation," Newsom shot back at Trump in 2019, after the president slammed him for his wildfire leadership again that year. 

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has offered to assist California as Gov. Gavin Newsom is grappling with multiple fires ripping through Los Angeles County this week. 

"Our prayers are with everyone affected by the horrific fires in Southern California. When disaster strikes, we must come together to help our fellow Americans in any way we can," DeSantis posted to X on Wednesday morning. 

"The state of Florida has offered help to assist the people of California in responding to these fires and in rebuilding communities that have been devastated," he added. 

DeSantis' offer of support to California comes after he recently led his state through Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene last year. The two governors have frequently traded barbs with one another in recent years, most notably when Florida was open for business during the pandemic, and California implemented strict lockdown orders and mandates. 

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES RAGE ACROSS LOS ANGELES COUNTY, FORCING THOUSANDS TO EVACUATE THEIR HOMES 

At least four fires are raging in Los Angeles County this week, tearing through the Pacific Palisades and Sylmar neighborhoods of Los Angeles, as well as near the city of Pasadena. Newsom declared a state of emergency after the Pacific Palisades fire quickly grew on Tuesday. 

PALISADES FIRE: HEIDI MONTAG, SPENCER PRATT LOSE HOME; CELEBRITIES FLEE RITZY NEIGHBORHOOD 

"This is a highly dangerous windstorm that's creating extreme fire risk – and we're not out of the woods. We're already seeing the destructive impacts with this fire in Pacific Palisades that grew rapidly in a matter of minutes," Newsom said in a statement. "Our deepest thanks go to our expert firefighters and first responders who jumped quickly into fighting this dangerous fire. If you're in Southern California, please pay attention to weather reports and follow any guidance from emergency officials." 

PACIFIC PALISADES INFERNO FORCES THOUSANDS TO FLEE CALIFORNIA HOMES; GOV. NEWSOM DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY 

At least 30,000 residents have evacuated the area as the devastating fires have burned mansions and homes to the ground, including those belonging to Hollywood stars such as James Woods. 

"All the smoke detectors are going off in our house and transmitting to our iPhones. I couldn’t believe our lovely little home in the hills held on this long. It feels like losing a loved one," Woods shared on X of the devastation to his home.

ACTOR STEVE GUTTENBERG HELPS PALISADES FIRE FIRST RESPONDERS AS FLAMES RAGE, 'IT'S A GHOST TOWN' 

President Biden reported to the public that he has been in frequent communication with California leaders as the fires rages and that FEMA aid was approved to assist efforts. 

"I am being frequently briefed on the wildfires in west Los Angeles. My team and I are in touch with state and local officials, and I have offered any federal assistance that is needed to help suppress the terrible Pacific Palisades fire. Earlier tonight, FEMA approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant to support areas that are impacted and help reimburse the state of California for the immediate firefighting costs. My Administration will do everything it can to support the response," Biden posted to X on Tuesday evening.