Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., called on multiple federal agencies to exempt federal seasonal firefighters from President Donald Trump's executive order implementing a federal hiring freeze.

In a letter to the Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Interior and the Office of Management and Budget, Schiff noted that Trump's hiring freeze issued on Jan. 20 had stopped the onboarding of thousands of seasonal firefighters that could harm readiness to respond to wildfires, as Southern California is still grappling with the aftermath of last month's wildfires.

"The memo issued on January 20 states that it does not apply to positions related to public safety, but this onboarding delay is directly contrary to that claim," Schiff said in the letter dated Friday. "Our constituents and communities rely on the hard work and sacrifice of our more than 15,000 seasonal federal wildland firefighters each year."

LOS ANGELES FIRE VICTIMS TO BE BOOTED FROM RED CROSS SHELTER TO MAKE SPACE FOR FILM CREWS, EVENTS

"Seasonal firefighters are essential to the public safety of those who live in fire-prone areas, and I am alarmed that federal firefighters are not party to this exemption," he said. "In light of this, I am requesting information from your agencies explaining why the federal hiring freeze has extended to the hiring of seasonal federal wildland firefighters."

Southern California was devastated last month by two major wildfires and several smaller ones that killed nearly 30 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures.

Some of the firefighters subject to Trump's order that halted the onboarding of thousands of seasonal federal firefighters were from agencies that helped in the response to the wildfires in the Los Angeles area, according to NBC News.

A Bureau of Land Management official told the outlet that despite Trump's order excluding positions related to "public safety" from the hiring freeze, federal firefighters are not exempt.

"In the face of increasingly destructive wildfires, we cannot afford to diminish the tools at our disposal to fight these fires," Schiff said in his letter. "Impeding the onboarding of federal firefighters and encouraging the early retirement of others, threatens California’s firefighting capacity and puts communities at great risk. Californians rely on the support of federal firefighters, and I hope you share my appreciation for the essential role these individuals play in keeping residents safe."

TABLES TURN ON LOS ANGELES ARSON SUSPECT IN CAUGHT-ON-CAM TAKEDOWN: 'WRONG NEIGHBORHOOD, BUDDY'

The senator also requested information on how the hiring freeze impacts federal firefighting applicants, the number of voluntary resignations and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency's role in the hiring, preparedness or readiness of federal wildland firefighters.

Two Southern California theme parks are offering free tickets to firefighters and other first responders as a way to say thank you for their work in combating the deadly and destructive wildfires that ravaged the area for the last month.

Universal Studios Hollywood announced their "First Responder Heroes Ticket Offer" on Jan. 31. 

"To thank those who assisted our community, all eligible active U.S.-based first responders can enjoy one complimentary general admission ticket and a 50% savings on up to three additional tickets, now through April 10, 2025," said the park's website.

DISNEY REVEALS FATE OF CLOSED STAR WARS HOTEL

The offer is available to "eligible active U.S. based first responders at either a public or private agency/entity," including paramedics/emergency medical technicians, firefighters, police officers/Sherriff's deputies, and National Guard members, said Universal Studios Hollywood. 

"The selfless dedication and tireless resilience exhibited by the first responders in response to combating the L.A. wildfires has been nothing short of extraordinary and we are very grateful to these unsung heroes for their courage during this difficult time," Scott Strobl, the executive vice president and general manager of Universal Studios Hollywood said in a statement. 

Strobl continued, "When these first responders are ready for a much needed break, we look forward to welcoming them to our theme park."

Tickets can only be picked up in person and first responders must show a "valid government-issued photo ID and valid employee ID card for qualifying first responder occupation," said Universal Studios Hollywood.

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On Feb. 7, Disneyland announced a similar offer for local first responders, calling it the "Heroes Ticket." The "Heroes Ticket" is two free one-day "park hopper" tickets, which include entry to both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure. 

"We are inspired by the endless dedication and contributions of the heroes who battled the fires that took place in the LA area, and our gratitude for their service is immeasurable," said Ken Potrock, president of Disneyland Resort, in a statement released by Disneyland. 

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"We hope these heroes can enjoy a memorable day with a loved one at our parks, because they certainly deserve it," said Potrock. 

The Heroes Ticket is available for "eligible California firefighters as well as eligible Los Angeles-based law enforcement personnel and emergency medical technicians who helped combat the LA fires in January 2025," said the release from Disneyland. "The Heroes Ticket will also be available to eligible individuals from other departments that provided mutual aid assistance." 

The complementary tickets will be valid Mondays through Thursdays from May 5 through Aug. 7, 2025, said Disneyland, and will require a theme park reservation. 

Additional information will be sent to eligible fire, police, and sheriff departments in April, said the press release. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump — who have very visibly traded political fire but who also have worked together — meet at the White House on Wednesday as the California governor fights to secure more money for people and businesses devastated following last month's deadly wildfires in metropolitan Los Angeles.

The trip is the first by Newsom to Washington, D.C., since Trump took over in the White House and is part of his efforts to obtain additional federal funding to aid in wildfire recovery from the horrific blazes that killed 29 people and destroyed over 12,000 homes and forced tens of thousands to evacuate.

Newsom arrived in the nation's capital on the eve of his visit to the White House, and hours ahead of the meeting he headed to Capitol Hill to hold separate meetings with members of Congress.

The governor traveled east a day after California lawmakers approved $25 million in legal funding proposed by the Democratic governor to challenge actions by the Trump administration. And the legislature also allocated another $25 million for legal groups to defend undocumented immigrants facing possible deportation by new Trump administration efforts.

TRUMP MEETS WITH CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS, FIRE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO SEE LA WILDFIRE DAMAGE FIRST HAND

Newsom came to Washington, D.C., hat in hand.

Late last month, the governor approved $2.5 billion for fire recovery work, which he hopes will be reimbursed by the federal government. 

And the state will likely need much more help from the federal government, as the bill to cover rebuilding costs is expected to reach into the tens of billions of dollars.

"The Governor’s trip is focused on securing critical disaster aid for the survivors of the Los Angeles fires and ensuring impacted families who lost their homes and livelihoods have the support they need to rebuild and recover," spokesperson Izzy Gardon said in a statement.

After the outbreak of the fires early last month, Trump repeatedly criticized Newsom's handling of the immense crisis. He has accused the governor of mismanaging forestry and water policy and, pointing to intense backlash over a perceived lack of preparation, called on Newsom to step down.

"Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!" Trump charged in a social media post on Jan. 8, as he repeated a derogatory name he often labels the governor.

Trump also placed blame for the deadly wildfires on Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, another Democrat, and the policies approved by state lawmakers in heavily blue California. In an executive order issued last month, he described management of the state's land and water resources as "disastrous."

Newsom — the governor of the nation's most populous state, one of the Democratic Party's leaders in the resistance against the returning president and a potential White House contender in 2028 — pushed back against Trump, as the two larger-than-life politicians traded fire.

Disputing Trump, the governor noted that reservoirs in the southern part of California were full when the fires first sparked, and has argued that no amount of water could tackle fires fueled by winds of up to 100 miles per hour.

Newsom also charged Trump had spread "hurricane-force winds of mis- and disinformation."

NEWSOM CALLS TRUMP'S CLAIMS 'PURE FICTION' AFTER HE POINTED FINGER OVER CALIFORNIA FIRE TRAGEDY

Trump met with Newsom as he arrived in Los Angeles late last month — just four days after his inauguration as president — to survey the fire damage.

Trump had threatened to withhold wildfire aid until certain stipulations were met in California, including changes to water policy and requiring an ID to vote, but now appears willing to work with Newsom.

"Thank you first for being here. It means a great deal to all of us," Newsom told Trump as he greeted the president upon his arrival in Los Angeles last month. "We’re going to need your support. We’re going to need your help." 

The president declared that "we're looking to get something completed. And the way you get it completed is to work together."

The wildfires are far from the first time Newsom and Trump took aim at each other. Their animosity dated back to before Trump was elected president the first time in 2016, when Newsom was California's lieutenant governor.

The verbal fireworks continued over the past two years, as Newsom served as a top surrogate on the campaign trail for former President Joe Biden and then former Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democrats' 2024 standard-bearer last summer.

Following Trump's convincing election victory over Harris in November, Newsom moved to "Trump-proof" his heavily blue state.

"He is using the term ‘Trump-Proof’ as a way of stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again,’ but I just overwhelmingly won the Election," Trump responded.

Since their meeting in Los Angeles, Newsom has appeared to be more restrained in his criticism of Trump.

Following Trump's orders, the US Army Corps of Engineers last week opened two dams in Central California, letting roughly 2.2 billion gallons of water flow out of reservoirs.

Trump celebrated the move in posts to Truth Social post on Friday and Sunday, declaring, "the water is flowing in California," and adding the water was "heading to farmers throughout the State, and to Los Angeles."

But water experts argue that the newly released water won't flow to Los Angeles, and it is being wasted by being released during California's normally wet winter season.

Newsom, apparently aiming to rebuild the working relationship he had with Trump during the president's first term in the White House, didn't raise any objections to the water release.

Fox News' Christina Shaw, Elizabeth Pritchett, Pat Ward, and Lee Ross contributed to this story.

A homeowner who evacuated his residence due to the raging Los Angeles wildfires returned home and discovered a 525-pound bear hiding in a crawl space under his house.

The post Berry the 525-Pound Bear Found Hiding from Wildfire Under L.A. Home appeared first on Breitbart.

The Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire that burned a total of nearly 40,000 acres in the Los Angeles area have been 100% contained, fire officials said on Friday.

The Palisades Fire burned 23,448 acres on the west side of Los Angeles and the Eaton Fire set 14,201 acres ablaze starting on Jan. 7, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The two major fires and several smaller ones created the worst natural disaster in Los Angeles County history, killing 28 people and damaging or destroying more than 16,000 structures, Cal Fire said.

CALIFORNIA MAN PLEADS GUILTY AFTER HIS DRONE COLLIDES WITH AIRCRAFT FIGHTING PALISADES FIRE

At the height of the fires, 180,000 people were under evacuation orders, according to Los Angeles County officials.

Damage and economic losses are estimated at more than $250 billion, according to private forecaster AccuWeather.

Rain finally fell in Southern California in the past week, which aided firefighters in containing the fires but also increased the risk of flash floods and mudslides in the hills and the spread of toxic material left behind in the fire's devastation.

Full containment is largely symbolic at this point as fires still remain isolated in steep mountain terrain, fire officials said.

"It's more important when we say forward progress is stopped," Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Margaret Stewart told Reuters.

Progress was stopped about a week after the Palisades and Eaton fires swept through the region.

LOS ANGELES AGENCY REVEALS ESTIMATED ECONOMIC IMPACT OF DEADLY WILDFIRES AS INFERNOS STILL RAGE

Stewart said the rain was "more of a hindrance" because it led to mudslides and blocked roads first responders needed to access.

"Had this rain come two weeks ago, it might have been more helpful," Stewart said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust will hold a hearing next week addressing overregulation in California following the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, stating California’s "onerous regulatory regime" may have worsened the disaster, Fox News Digital has learned.

The "California Fires and the Consequences of Overregulation" hearing will examine the real impacts of regulatory policy on the prevention of natural disasters, particularly in the case of California's wildfires, according to a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

It will also address how excessive regulation on insurance and permitting serves as a roadblock to those recovering from disasters.

Cal Fire reported more than 12,000 homes, businesses and schools were lost to the fires and more than 100,000 people have had to leave their homes.

KELSEY GRAMMER SAYS CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS 'TOOK THEIR EYE OFF THE BALL' IN WILDFIRES CATASTROPHE

Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, described current disaster regulations as a "nightmare."

"Democrat-run California's excessive regulations make preventing and recovering from natural disasters a nightmare," he said. 

LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES: SECOND CALIFORNIA REAL ESTATE AGENT CHARGED WITH PRICE GOUGING VICTIMS

Jordan added that California needs a streamlined process, as suggested by President Donald Trump, to remove regulation and ensure citizens can rebuild and prevent similar tragedies in the future.

Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., said the wildfires were a preventable tragedy, and Congress must examine whether California’s "onerous regulatory regime" worsened the disaster.

"For years, California’s liberal government has prioritized environmental activism over effective forest management and disaster mitigation. Meanwhile, the politicization of their state insurance regulator has driven insurers out of the state and forced taxpayers to foot the bill," Fitzgerald said.

Witnesses will include Steve Hilton, founder of Golden Together; Steven Greenhut, resident senior fellow and western region director of state affairs for the R Street Institute; and Edward Ring, director of water and energy policy for the California Policy Center, according to the statement.

The hearing is scheduled for Feb. 6 at 10 a.m. 

Highly combustible lithium-ion batteries used in electric and hybrid vehicles are complicating cleanup efforts in the Los Angeles neighborhoods ravaged by wildfire damage. 

Phase 1 of the federal cleanup is underway, as surveyors with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) work to remove and dispose of hazardous materials, including lithium-ion batteries found in charred vehicles and decimated homes. The EPA warned that batteries should be considered "extremely dangerous," even if they are believed to be intact, and "can spontaneously re-ignite, explode, and emit toxic gases and particulates even after the fire is out." 

The Palisades and Eaton fires aftermath is estimated to require the "largest lithium-ion battery pickup, cleanup, that’s ever happened in the history of the world," EPA incident commander Steve Calanog reportedly told local KNBC. He explained that removing lithium-ion batteries – even those that do not appear damaged – from fire wreckage requires "technical sophistication and care," as hazardous material crews find and deionize the batteries so they can be crushed or safely shipped for disposal. 

"We don’t know the long-term effects of all this exposure, and we haven't seen this on this large of a scale and this many electric vehicles," Los Angeles City Fire Capt. Adam VanGerpen told KNBC. "This is an unprecedented amount of electric vehicles with lithium-ion batteries in there."

LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES: LAWSUIT ALLEGES VIDEO SHOWS WHAT STARTED EATON FIRE

According to the California Energy Commission, more than 99,000 zero-emission vehicles were sold in Los Angeles County in 2024 alone, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles. 

The Tesla models Y, 3 and Cybertruck were the top three selling zero-emission models sold in Los Angeles County last year, according to the commission's online tally. 

Authorities are warning that residual heat poses danger for days, weeks and even months after the initial fires, potentially causing lithium-ion batteries to spontaneously combust. 

"With the lithium-ion batteries, even if they look like they are intact they could have damage on the inside, so they continue to off gas and the off-gas from these batteries can be toxic to your health," VanGerpen said.

Besides in electric and hybrid vehicles, lithium-ion batteries can be found in personal electronics, vaping devices, power tools, and home energy storage systems, which have become increasingly popular during California's power outages. 

LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES: CALIFORNIA CITIES VOW TO ‘SHUT DOWN’ EPA’S DUMPING SITE FOR ‘TOXIC’ WASTE

President Donald Trump toured the Palisades Fire burn area on Friday. His executive order issued that same day to provide water resources in California and improve disaster response will allow the EPA "to complete its hazardous materials mission responding to the Los Angeles, California Wildfires as soon as practical," the EPA said in a statement on Monday. "EPA’s work removing hazardous materials is Phase 1 of the federal cleanup response." 

"According to the EPA incident commander, there will be upward of 1,000 people working on Phase 1 cleanup by this weekend," the statement continued. "This work, conducted at no cost to residents, is a mandatory process to ensure the safety of residents and the workers who will – after the hazardous material is gone – conduct the Phase 2 debris removal in the burn footprints, and to prevent these materials from being released into the environment." 

Phase 2, which begins automatically once Phase 1 is complete, will involve debris removal and will be coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 

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"Under President Trump’s leadership, EPA is doing everything within our power to expedite cleanup of hazardous debris and to help provide Californians safer access to their property as soon as possible," EPA Acting Deputy Administrator Chad McIntosh said in a statement. "With President Trump’s Executive Order, he has authorized a whole of government response to the catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles – an effort that has never been seen before. EPA is working with local, state and federal partners in addition to the private sector to aid in California’s recovery."

U.S. Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., said she does not believe conditions should be placed on federal support for wildfires sweeping through Southern California, after President Donald Trump suggested he wanted wildfire aid to be conditional.

The district Chu represents includes Altadena and northern Pasadena, which have been impacted by the deadly Eaton Fire.

"There have never been conditions laid on disaster aid in the history of America," Chu told Inside California Politics.

"I know that I have voted for disaster aid in red states and for blue states, she continued. "I’ve never considered whether they were Republican or Democrat. And let me say, wildfires have no political affiliations. They don’t have a political party."

TRUMP MEETS WITH CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS, FIRE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO SEE LA WILDFIRE DAMAGE FIRST HAND

This comes after Trump said on Friday that two conditions must be met in California before the federal government offers disaster relief. He said he wants lawmakers to approve voter identification legislation and that water needs to be allowed to flow across the state.

"I want to see two things in Los Angeles. Voter ID, so that the people have a chance to vote, and I want to see the water be released and come down into Los Angeles and throughout the state," Trump told reporters in North Carolina as he was touring hurricane recovery efforts in that state. "Those are the two things. After that, I will be the greatest president that California has ever seen."

Trump visited Los Angeles later on Friday to view damage from the wildfires and meet with local officials and residents.

Chu said she wants Trump to tell the working-class victims of her district that they would only see aid to address the devastation if there are conditions.

"I want him to see how these everyday Americans are being terribly devastated and also I want him to hear from their voices," Chu said. "I want him to look, in fact, in the victim’s eyes and say that he wouldn’t provide aid unless there were conditions."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, responded to Trump's comments about conditional aid. The governor's office said several other states — including some won by Trump — do not generally require identification at the voting polls and that California residents must provide identification when they register to vote. Newsom's office also said the state pumps as much water as it could under policies from Trump’s first-term.

LOS ANGELES AGENCY REVEALS ESTIMATED ECONOMIC IMPACT OF DEADLY WILDFIRES AS INFERNOS STILL RAGE

"Conditioning aid for American citizens is wrong," Newsom's office said on X.

Republicans in Congress have suggested tying wildfire aid to a debt ceiling increase or changes to California’s fire-mitigation policies, but Democrats have argued against placing conditions on federal assistance to Southern California.

President Donald Trump declared a national emergency after touring the devastation of the Los Angeles fires with residents who were personally impacted by the disastrous event.

Trump traveled to Southern California on Friday to survey the damage from the recent wildfires that destroyed over 10,000 structures in the Los Angeles area and tragically took the lives of nearly 30 people. 

Trump took an aerial tour of the area before his landing, with images showing the once ritzy neighborhood in ashes.

The president and first lady Melania Trump then experienced the damage up close, meeting with local law enforcement and members of the community for a tour of the destroyed Pacific Palisades neighborhoods.

‘FEMA IS NOT GOOD’: TRUMP ANNOUNCES AGENCY OVERHAUL DURING VISIT TO NORTH CAROLINA

"Not even believable," Trump told reporters on site.

Trump sat down for a roundtable with LA Mayor Karen Bass and other state officials. When the president entered the room, individuals were heard chanting "USA, USA, USA!" Bass greeted the president and said that his presence was welcomed.

"This is an honor to be with you," during the meeting, saying that homeowners told him that they want to rebuild their homes in the area.

At one point, the president criticized Bass for not using her emergency powers to respond to the wildfires.

"You have emergency powers just like I do … you have to exercise them also," Trump told Bass, who responded that she did exercise them.

Trump said he would sign an executive order to open up the water valves in the area.

"I don't think you can realize how rough, how devastating it is until you see it," Trump said of the wildfire damage. "The federal government is standing behind you, 100%."

Trump said that he is going to waive federal permits for rebuilding in the area. "I'm gonna be the president to help you fix it," he said. "We're going to waive all federal permits... Because a federal permit can take 10 years... we don't want to take 10 days."

LOS ANGELES AGENCY REVEALS ESTIMATED ECONOMIC IMPACT OF DEADLY WILDFIRES AS INFERNOS STILL RAGE

After the fires broke out, Trump blamed Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic city policies for the damage, citing their forest and water management policies. 

Newsom was waiting for Trump on the tarmac when he exited Air Force One and was seen shaking hands with the president in their first face-to-face encounter since the inauguration. 

"Thank you first for being here. It means a great deal to all of us," Newsom told Trump after they met on the tarmac of LAX in Los Angeles just after 3 p.m. local time. "We’re going to need your support. We’re going to need your help." 

Speaking about his meeting with Newsom, Trump said that "we had a good talk, a very positive talk."

Trump traveled to North Carolina to tour the hurricane damage, before heading to California for his first visit to the state since becoming president.

On Friday, January 24, President Donald Trump was expected to arrive in Los Angeles to see for himself the devastation caused by the recent wildfires, even as new, menacing fires broke out in Los Angeles County and elsewhere in southern California. 

But it's not just the fires that are out of control. So too is the political posturing of California Democrats who seem more interested in "fighting back" against our new president than putting the interests of Californians first by asking for his help. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom has railed against Trump's misinformation over the fires' causes. As usual, when the left complain about misinformation, it's really just things that are true that they don't like. It may not be comfortable for Newsom that Trump is drawing attention to the incompetence and long-term policy failures that made this disaster so much more destructive than it need have been. But Trump is right on every point. 

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

My policy organization Golden Together just published a paper with practical ideas to help Los Angeles and our state after these fires. But the Trump visit provides an immediate chance to make things happen right now. 

Why can't California's leftist politicians realize that Trump's promise of a new "Golden Age" for America is also a golden opportunity for the Golden State? An opportunity to recover from these fires, rebuild faster and better, and to prevent anything like this from ever happening again. 

There's been a lot of talk about federal aid to California, and whether it should have "strings attached." Ultimately, that will be determined in Congress, and as California Rep. Kevin Kiley told me in a recent interview, given California's terrible track record of wasting federal money — for example COVID-relief funds — it's vital to put safeguards around any funds that are sent to California. 

But perhaps even more important than federal money is the expertise that Trump could offer. Here are three things California Democrats could ask him for, if they could just get over their pathetic political point-scoring. 

We have a builder as president. Someone who has a lifetime professional understanding of how to build things quickly, economically and to high quality.  

California should take advantage of this unique opportunity. Ask Trump's advice about how to get the job done in Los Angeles. We have the Super Bowl, soccer World Cup and the Olympic Games all coming up in Los Angeles in the next few years. We can't afford to waste time. We need to Build, Baby, Build as well as Drill, Baby, Drill!  

Trump is, above all things, a practical leader. He's not interested in ideology, but outcomes. He just wants to get things done. I'm sure he will have incredibly useful, specific ideas about how to rebuild Los Angeles and who can help do it — listen to him! 

One of the most high-profile disputes between Newsom and Trump has broken out over water, and California's failure to supply adequate water to our cities and farmers. Trump is absolutely right about this. So-called journalists mocked Trump for talking about a "giant faucet" that sends water to southern California, which Gavin Newsom restricts in order to protect a tiny fish. But in doing so, they just reveal their own ignorance. 

Most of California's water supply is in the north of the state, much of it from rivers and reservoirs fed by the melting Sierra Nevada snow pack. Most of the population lives in the south, and there are two main supply routes bringing water there: the Delta-Mendota Canal, built and run by the federal government, and the California Aqueduct, run by the state. Each of these has a giant pumping station, close to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, that regulates water flow. 

In his first administration, Trump ordered the federal pumping station to increase water supply. Unbelievably, California retaliated by reducing supply from the state pumping station, in order to leave more water in the Delta. Why? They themselves admit that it was to protect salmon, and the three-inch delta smelt, a species that died out in 2020 anyway, only to be revived by biologists at UC Davis. 

Trump has issued a new Executive Order — Putting People Over Fish — to increase water supply in the federal system. California should welcome this instead of fighting it like last time. 

On both of these issues — water, and rebuilding L.A. — there is a massive self-imposed obstacle: California's astonishing, worst-in-the-nation red tape and bureaucracy.   

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In fact, this is standing in the way of getting anything done in California these days: rebuilding Los Angeles, building the new water infrastructure we desperately need, building the new homes we need to solve our housing crisis. We have the highest housing costs in America, along with the lowest homeownership. We pay the most for water, for electricity — for everything. And a huge part of the reason is the sprawling bureaucracy in Sacramento that has built up over decades of one-party rule by far-left Democrats.  

Their 'climate' extremism has become an excuse for slowing down or blocking any project. Those that manage to go ahead are hit with endless, constantly changing environmental regulations pushed by unaccountable state bureaucracies like CARB (the California Air Resources Board) or the Coastal Commission. (These two, by the way, bear the lion's share of responsibility for the devastation of the L.A. fires. It was their rules that blocked vital brush-clearing work in the area.) 

On top of the environmental extremism, we have over-the-top labor regulations, imposed at the behest of the unions that fund California's Democrat politicians. Extortionate labor costs and forced use of union labor mean many construction projects are killed because they are just not viable. And on top of that, the taxes, fees, permits and mind-boggling bureaucratic processes all add up to give California the worst business climate in America — 10 years in a row. 

Trump knows how to deal with all of this. He put Elon Musk in charge of getting rid of federal bureaucracy: now let's do the same in the state with the worst bureaucracy in America. Yes, it's time to DOGE California! 

California desperately needs a dose of common sense and competence. President Trump can help provide it — if only Gavin Newsom and the rest of his California Democrats will listen.  

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM STEVE HILTON

When President Donald Trump lands in California on Friday to survey the devastating wildfires that have ravaged metropolitan Los Angeles this month, the state's Democratic governor will be among the officials greeting him.

But Gov. Gavin Newsom appeared to be showing up uninvited.

"I look forward to being there on the tarmac to thank the president, welcome him, and we’re making sure that all the resources he needs for a successful briefing are provided to him," Newsom told reporters on the eve of Trump's stop in Los Angeles.

A couple of hours before Trump touched down in Los Angeles, Newsom director of communications Izzy Gardon told Fox News Digital that "in coordination with the White House, the governor will greet President Trump on the tarmac upon his arrival in California."

"The governor is committed to advocating for the needs of Californians in partnership with the federal administration," he emphasized.

Since the fires, which have killed nearly 30 people and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes, broke out earlier this month, Trump has repeatedly criticized Newsom's handling of the immense crisis. He has accused the governor of mismanaging forestry and water policy and, pointing to intense backlash over a perceived lack of preparation, has called on Newsom to step down.

UNINVITED NEWSOM SAYS HE'LL BE ON TARMAC TO GREET AND BRIEF TRUMP

"Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!" Trump charged in a social media post on Jan. 8, as he repeated a derogatory name he often labels the governor.

And in his first Oval Office interview since returning to power in the White House, Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity this week, "This fire was just raging, and then it would catch to another area, another area, another area."

"It took a week and a half — and I’ve never seen anything like it. We look so weak," Trump argued during his appearance on "Hannity," as he pointed towards his repeated claim that a main reason the blazes raged was because firefighters didn't have access to water.

TRUMP PLEDGES FEMA OVERHAUL DURING STOP IN HURRICANE RAVAGED WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA

Trump and some top Republicans in Congress have pushed toward placing conditions on continuing the massive federal wildfire aid to California in order to force policy changes.

The president said on Friday, ahead of his arrival in Los Angeles, that he wanted to see "two things" before he would support federal disaster relief funds for California.

"I want to see two things in Los Angeles: Voter ID so that the people have a chance to vote. And I want to see the water be released and come down into Los Angeles and throughout the state. Those are the two things. After that, I will be the greatest president that California has ever seen," Trump said.

Newsom on Thursday signed a $2.5 billion state relief package. But California will need much more help from the federal government.

And Newsom — the governor of the nation's most populous state, one of the Democratic Party's leaders in the resistance against the returning president and a potential White House contender in 2028 — has pushed back, as the two larger-than-life politicians trade fire.

The governor has noted that reservoirs in the southern part of California were full when the fires first sparked, and has argued that no amount of water could tackle fires fueled by winds of up to 100 miles per hour.

Newsom has also charged Trump has spread "hurricane-force winds of mis- and disinformation."

And in a letter to Congress last week, Newsom emphasized that "our long national history of responding to natural disasters, no matter where they occur, has always been Americans helping Americans, full stop."

The wildfires are far from the first time Newsom and Trump have taken aim at each other. Their animosity dates back to before Trump was elected president the first time in 2016, when Newsom was California's lieutenant governor.

The verbal fireworks continued over the past two years, as Newsom served as a top surrogate on the campaign trail for former President Joe Biden and then former Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democrats' 2024 standard-bearer last summer.

Following Trump's convincing election victory over Harris in November, Newsom moved to "Trump-proof" his heavily blue state.

"He is using the term ‘Trump-Proof’ as a way of stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again,’ but I just overwhelmingly won the Election," Trump responded.

While pushing back against Trump's attacks amid the wildfires, Newsom also knows he needs to work with the president.

Newsom, who two weeks ago invited Trump to come to California to survey the damage, said in a statement on Monday following the inauguration ceremony, "I look forward to President Trump’s visit to Los Angeles and his mobilization of the full weight of the federal government to help our fellow Americans recover and rebuild."

He emphasized "finding common ground and striving toward shared goals" with the Trump administration.

"In the face of one of the worst natural disasters in America’s history, this moment underscores the critical need for partnership, a shared commitment to facts, and mutual respect — values that enable civil discourse, effective governance, and meaningful action," the governor said.

Veteran California-based political scientist Jack Pitney at Claremont McKenna College noted that "this is a very difficult balance" for Newsom.

"As a governor of California, he needs to work with the president to get federal aid for the state. As a national political figure, he feels pressure to attack Trump. It’s hard to do both of those at the same time," Pitney told Fox News.

Fox News' Diana Stancy contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: GOP Congressman Darrell Issa has introduced a bill in response to the devastating California wildfires aimed at slashing through the regulatory burdens that prevent firefighters from most effectively preventing the fires.

Issa, who represents California’s 48th Congressional District, is putting forward the Green Tape Elimination Act which would exempt hazardous fuel reduction activities on federal lands from federal regulations for a decade. 

Eliminating those regulatory burdens, Issa says, will allow firefighters to clear brush, cut shrubs, prescribe fires, along with other fire prevention activities without being hindered by six major federal environmental regulations.

Those regulations include the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Clean Air Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and Migratory Bird Conservation Act.

BILL MAHER TRASHES KAREN BASS, CALI OFFICIALS FOR RESPONSE TO FIRES: 'FIDDLING IN GHANA WHILE THE CITY BURNED’

"For years, environmental rules have become regulatory ‘green tape’ — locking in dangerous conditions and contradicting common sense reforms," Issa, who will be touring the Palisade Fire devastation with President Trump on Friday, told Fox News Digital. "That’s why this is no time for tinkering around the edges. We can’t wait for the next deadly disaster."

"Giving a blank check to finance even more of California’s mismanagement would be like giving matches to an arsonist," Issa continued. "We’re dedicated to helping the victims of this disaster first and working to prevent the next one. It’s a message I’ll bring to President Trump when I see him today in Los Angeles."

The Golden State's struggles with preventing or at least moderating severe wildfires over the past few decades has been a longstanding concern that was only exacerbated by the recent Eaton Fire and Palisades fire which killed at least 28 people. 

CALIFORNIA WATER SUPPLY CRUCIAL FOR LA WILDFIRE RESPONSE ALLOWED TO RUN DRY MONTHS BEFORE INFERNOS: LAWSUIT

Many have argued that a wide range of federal and state regulations make it more difficult to conduct mitigation activities, like prescribed burns or treatments to remove hazardous trees and vegetation.

Chuck Devore, a former member of the California State Assembly and the chief national initiatives officer at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told FOX Business in a recent interview that federal and state rules have hampered wildfire mitigation efforts, resulting in larger fuel loads that drive more intense wildfires."

"The nature of the wildfire problem changes a little bit from north to south… In both cases, you have the issue of air quality management districts that are under both federal and state mandate to clean up the air. That makes it difficult to have prescribed burns with the sort of frequency that needs to happen to be able to reduce the fuel load," Devore said.

Defiant and armed Los Angeles homeowners in the scorched Altadena community have taken to the streets to defend the homes that remain standing — even if those streets have been blocked off by a police line amid evacuation orders and raging wildfires, residents say.

Authorities have arrested at least a dozen individuals in connection with looting and arson, and prosecutors in Los Angeles and neighboring Orange County have asked the governor to order stiffer penalties for looters.

Ignoring evacuation orders, Mike Leroy and Billy Theodorakopoulos told Fox News Digital they were protecting their neighborhood against looters.

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At first, they stayed behind to try and protect their homes with garden hoses, keeping their rooftops and yards as wet as they could and directly battling a garage fire that reached a car's gas tank. Firefighters joined them briefly, helping contain the flames, but then moved on to other emergencies.

They decided to stay and ward off looters.

2 MORE FIREBUGS CHARGED AS LA'S NEW TOUGH-ON-CRIME DA HEATS UP FIGHT AGAINST LOOTERS AND ARSONISTS

"We had one incident, early on," Leroy said. "But nothing afterwards. We've been seeing a lot of patrol, especially the past few nights."

He said they were taking a few hours of sleep between patrols and remaining on the lookout.

Theodorakopoulos' wife, Maggie, said she has taken to calling Altadena by a new name amid the chaos.

"Now I've renamed it ‘Texadena,’ since we're all walking around with our guns and stuff," she joked. 

Without power, the holdouts set up a makeshift camp with a solar-powered shower.

CALIFORNIA FIREBUG ARREST CAUGHT ON VIDEO AS POLICE WARN OF ARSONISTS

The pair said they were hoping more of their neighbors would join them.

"We need the neighbors to come home so that we can take a break," Theodorakopoulos said. "And No. 2, we need more vigilance… There's only six of us in a three-block radius to cover all this, and there's a lot more territory here."

Earlier this week, a local lawyer named Aaron Lubeley told The Wall Street Journal his well-off neighborhood suddenly felt grittier as friends from outside the perimeter dropped off supplies to holdouts like himself who were defying evacuation orders.

"We do feel like we’re in the Wild West," he told the paper. 

The fires have killed at least 24 people in just over a week. Authorities say they expect to discover more fatalities.

Compounding the issue are looters and arsonists. 

Evacuation orders are mandatory, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, while evacuation warnings are advisory. Authorities are urging residents to be packed and ready to move with their pets and important papers.

Fox News' Max Bacall contributed to this report.

Democratic lawmakers are claiming the severity of the Los Angeles wildfires was a result of climate change, despite reports that the city's fire hydrants ran out of water and the fire department's budget was slashed just weeks before the Palisades fire destroyed thousands of homes and burned more than 15,000 acres.

Several fires broke out across the Southern California mountains in early January, quickly spreading to coastal residential areas and destroying more than 10,000 homes and structures. 

As the fires gained national attention, Democratic lawmakers across the country began to claim it was climate change rather than state policies that caused the disastrous fire damage.

"And what has happened is that climate change has dried out our foliage, our flora. And coupled with these massive winds, these 50 to 100 miles an hour winds that happen every year around this time, a little ember can turn into a massive fire," Rep. Dave Min, D-Calif., who represents a district not far from the raging fires, told NewsNation’s "The Hill Sunday."

LA COUNTRY CUT FIRE BUDGET WHILE SPENDING HEAVILY ON DEI, WOKE ITEMS: ‘MIDNIGHT STROLL TRANSGENDER CAFE'

"Climate change has wreaked havoc on us," Min said.

After the fires engulfed the Los Angeles mountains, it was reported that local fire hydrants were not producing water and that the firefighter funding had recently been cut by millions.

Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged these reports, and demanded an independent investigation be conducted into the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) regarding the lack of water in the middle of the crisis, but Democratic lawmakers shifted the blame away from state leaders.

"The scale of damage and loss is unimaginable. Climate change is real, not 'a hoax.' Donald Trump must treat this like the existential crisis it is," Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said in a social media post on Wednesday morning.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said that the state leaders who don't acknowledge climate change as a crisis, who are commonly Republican, are at fault. 

"I’m so heartbroken at the devastation that’s continuously inflicted upon our country & the world & elected ‘leaders’ are ignorant, impotent, or just incompetent to doing the smart thing, which is to acknowledge that climate change is real & start to solve it," Crockett wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Jan. 8. 

Another Democratic lawmaker, Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington, said in January that he was "glad to be working with Gov. Newsom and helping CA, ravaged repeatedly by the effects of climate change."

Months before the fires broke out, Los Angeles city officials cut the fire department budget by $17.6 million, while hundreds of thousands of dollars were being allocated to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the state.

Celebrities immediately began pointing fingers at city leadership for investing in programs such as a "syringe exchange" program that gives sterile syringes to homeless drug addicts, instead of more funding for fire prevention efforts.

"We pay the highest taxes in California. Our fire hydrants were empty. Our vegetation was overgrown, brush not cleared. Our reservoirs were emptied by our governor because tribal leaders wanted to save fish. Our fire department budget was cut by our mayor. But thank god drug addicts are getting their drug kits," actress Sara Foster wrote in a post on X. 

On the same platform, Khloé Kardashian called out the city's Democratic mayor, writing, "Mayor Bass you are a joke!!!!"

Rick Caruso, founder of a real estate company and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate, suggested that forest management could have mitigated the fires.

"We knew the winds were coming. We knew that there was brush that needed to be cleared 20 years ago," Caruso, founder of a real estate company and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate, told the LA Times. "This fire could have been mitigated — maybe not prevented."

Police arrested three people following two drone incidents as authorities report numerous encounters with aerial operations, potentially hampering lifesaving measures as wildfires rage throughout Southern California. 

As of Monday afternoon, charges had not been released. Two arrests stem from one drone incident, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna. 

"If you do not have business in the evacuation areas, do not go there," Luna said in a press conference on Monday. "You are infringing upon the work that our first responders need to attend to."

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

Cal Fire told Fox News Digital that the department is unable to provide details regarding the incidents, citing a lack of insight into the Federal Aviation Administration’s investigations. 

The FAA directed Fox News Digital to local authorities for questions relating to the arrests. 

Last week, a civilian drone struck a Super Scooper plane, leaving a "fist-sized hole" in the wing and grounding the potentially life-saving aircraft for a few days.

LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES: FIREFIGHTING PLANE GROUNDED FOR 3 DAYS AFTER DRONE STRIKE CAUSES ‘FIST SIZED HOLE’

"We are working with our public and private sector counterparts to try to identify the operator of that drone," said Akil Davis, FBI assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles Field Office. "But since that incident, we have had [more than 10] contacts with drone operators in which we have warned and fined in previous years."

PHOTOS: FBI releases new images of damaged Super Scooper aircraft 

The plane flies at low altitudes to scoop water from the ocean and douse wildfires, and is one of two aircraft on loan from Quebec. 

The Super Scooper has been repaired and is expected to return to the air on Tuesday, pending approval from the FAA. Authorities originally expected the aircraft to be back in commission by Monday.

The incident has resulted in authorities warning the public to refrain from flying drones within wildfire areas. Temporary flight restrictions have been placed above the wildfire zones and federal authorities have deployed ground teams to intercept pilots violating FAA restrictions.  

"The FAA has not authorized anyone unaffiliated with the Los Angeles firefighting operations to fly drones in the TFRs," the FAA said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

Forty-eight privately owned drones have been detected in wildfire zones, Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief Robert Harris said during a briefing on Saturday evening. 

FBI SEARCHING FOR OPERATOR OF PRIVATELY OWNED DRONE THAT PUNCHED HOLE IN CANADIAN FIREFIGHTING PLANE

The FAA has warned against the dangers of drone activity interfering with first responders. Aircraft battling wildfires often fly at low altitudes, which could result in encounters with drones, such as mid-air collisions or pilot distractions. Additionally, drones could lose connection and fall from the sky, potentially striking firefighters or civilians on the ground. 

Flying a drone in a wildfire zone could force first responders to ground aircraft, resulting in delays and threatening the safety of firefighters, civilians, and structures. 

"Drones are probably one of our most significant threats right now in law enforcement," Davis said.

Interfering with firefighting operations on public land is a federal crime punishable by up to 12 months in prison. The FAA can impose a civil penalty of up to $75,000 if a drone pilot interferes with wildfire suppression or law enforcement efforts when temporary flight restrictions are in place. 

The FAA encourages the public to use their FAA Hotline web form to report any violations of Federal Aviation Regulations. 

Fox News Digital's Alexandra Koch and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report. 

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass previously told The New York Times in 2021 that she didn't plan to travel internationally when elected mayor of the city, as reported by the outlet on Sunday. 

Bass said in 2021 that should she win her election, "not only would I of course live here, but I also would not travel internationally — the only places I would go would be D.C., Sacramento, San Francisco and New York, in relation to L.A," the Times reported.

The mayor was traveling in Ghana as the fires ravaged Los Angeles last week, and upon her return, Bass ignored questions from reporters about her absence. 

Bass previously served in Congress, specifically on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and spent several years working on U.S. relations with Africa, according to the Times.

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

The Times reported, "That pledge has been spectacularly broken."

Bass has traveled internationally four times since she became mayor, the Times reported, once to Mexico and three times to Paris for the Olympics. 

"Do you owe citizens an apology for being absent while their homes were burning? And do you regret cutting the Fire Department budget by millions of dollars, Madame Mayor?" Sky News reporter David Blevins asked as Bass waited to deplane on Wednesday following her trip to Ghana.

"Have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today?" he added. 

Bass refused to acknowledge the reporter, continuing to ignore questions as she looked at the ground.

"No apology to them? Do you think you should have been visiting Ghana while this was unfolding back home?" he said. 

"The Mayor is laser focused on two things right now – keeping Angelenos safe and protecting property. She has secured the federal, state and local resources we need to continue fighting these fires and is moving forward on an all-of-the-above plan for recovery," Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

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Bass was also called out for a 2021 social media post calling out Sen. Ted Cruz for being away from his state while Texas dealt with a winter storm.

Bass told reporters during a news conference on Wednesday that she was communicating with people throughout her flight back to LA.

"I was on the phone, on the plane, almost every hour of the flight," she said. "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, I immediately went to the fire zone and saw what happened in Pacific Palisades."

Fox News' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.

In response to concerns that environmental protection efforts might delay reconstruction in the coastal area, environmental laws that could have posed obstacles to rebuilding structures destroyed by the Southern California wildfires will be temporarily suspended.

Houses along the scenic Pacific Coast Highway in California burned down in a monstrous fire that destroyed more than 10,000 homes and structures beginning on Jan. 7. 

"We’re afraid they won’t let us rebuild," said Teddy Leonard, owner of Reel Inn, a seafood restaurant serving on the Malibu coast since the 1980s that burned down in January. "It’s very scary."

California law currently requires that people looking to build undergo a lengthy environmental review process before receiving approval, but state officials say the process will not apply to victims of the recent fire seeking to rebuild their lost structures.

LA COUNTY CUT FIRE BUDGET WHILE SPENDING HEAVILY ON DEI, WOKE ITEMS: ‘MIDNIGHT STROLL TRANSGENDER CAFE’

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires that a review be conducted to weigh any potential environmental effects before a building permit is approved. Another state law, the California Coastal Act, focuses on development as it relates to "the preservation of sensitive coastal and marine habitat and biodiversity."

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES PROMPT SCRUTINY OF FEDERAL, STATE RULES HAMPERING MITIGATION EFFORTS

Both laws were halted on Sunday for those who tragically lost their homes after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to suspend the environmental review process.

"When the fires are extinguished, victims who have lost their homes and businesses must be able to rebuild quickly and without roadblocks," Newsom said in a statement.

"The executive order I signed today will help cut permitting delays, an important first step in allowing our communities to recover faster and stronger. I’ve also ordered our state agencies to identify additional ways to streamline the rebuilding and recovery process," he added.

CEQA has received pushback over the years from critics, including environmentalists, who say it is restrictive and expensive.

"I don’t think that anybody really thinks that CEQA works exactly how it’s supposed to," Eric Buescher, an attorney with San Francisco Baykeeper, an environmental nonprofit working to "hold polluters accountable," said in 2022 about the state law, according to local outlet Bay Nature.

"Developers say it is way too restrictive. Cities say it’s expensive and impossible to comply with," Buescher said. "Environmental groups say you can’t even get a project that is going to be built for sea level rise reviewed in time for sea level rise." 

Many of the Malibu homes that were destroyed by the fires were located on the beach along the Pacific Coast Highway, and their reconstruction could be subject to local land regulations designed to preserve the natural coastline.

President Biden announced on Thursday the federal government would cover all costs of debris removal and California’s fire management for 180 days. 

FIRST ON FOX VIDEO: Police and residents of Azusa, California, a small city in Los Angeles County, teamed up Friday to stop a suspected arsonist in his tracks as at least three large wildfires threaten the region and winds are expected to pick up again.

With increased officers on patrol amid the wildfire emergency, Azusa Police Department Capt. Robert Landeros said the first responding officer arrived quickly to the scene at Pioneer Park around 11:30 p.m. after neighbors confronted the homeless suspect, who was still there when the first officer arrived.

"This was intentional," Landeros told Fox News Digital Monday. "Some of the neighbors confronted him, stopped him from setting an additional fire in the park."

Video shows an Azusa officer handcuffing a man just steps away from a billowing brush fire, which authorities say county firefighters quickly extinguished.

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

Police have identified the suspect as 39-year-old Jose Carranza-Escobar, "a transient" whose last known address was also in Azusa. They said he admitted to starting the brush fire.

The arrest comes as firefighters continue to battle at least three active wildfires in Los Angeles County that have killed at least 24 and damaged thousands of homes and businesses.

Carranza was jailed on arson charges. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman was expected to hold a news briefing with more information about Carranza and fire-related looting arrests later Monday. 

SALTWATER USED TO COMBAT LFAMES COMES WITH IMMEDIATE BENEFITS BUT LONG-TERM RISKS

Landeros said that Azusa police and partner agencies, including Hochman's office, the county sheriff's office, arson investigators in neighboring departments and the California National Guard are taking a "zero-tolerance" approach to arson as high winds and the dry climate fuel raging wildfires across Southern California.

"Everybody’s out there," he said. "We’re watching. Even our citizens are."

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The foothills outside town are a high-risk fire area and also have homeless encampments, where fires have broken out before, he said.

"We're constantly conducting enforcement operations in that area," he said. "Residents are obviously on edge when there are major fires."

Strong winds are expected to return to the region this week which could fuel the existing fires as crews continue to fight them. They can both fan flames and knock down trees and branches that can burn.

"Azusa PD urges everyone to remain alert as fires continue to affect the county," Landeros said in a statement over the weekend. "We must be cautious of individuals who may enter our community with the intent to start fires."

Last week, another group of Los Angeles residents stopped a homeless man seen carrying a blowtorch. He was taken into custody, but police said they didn't have enough evidence to charge him with arson.

Video of that incident shows him holding a torch head and a yellow fuel tank before at least five residents surrounded him and tackled him to the ground.

The NBA announced that home games for both the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers would resume on Monday, after both teams had games originally scheduled for Saturday postponed due to the wildfires sweeping through Southern California.

The Lakers will host the San Antonio Spurs on Monday at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles while the Clippers will host the Miami Heat at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, south of the Palisades fire.

The Clippers said at practice Sunday that the league had given the green light for Monday's game. The Spurs said they were told that Monday's matchup with the Lakers would be played as scheduled.

Saturday's games in Southern California, in which the Lakers were initially scheduled to host the Spurs in the first of two consecutive games between the two teams and the Clippers' home game against the Charlotte Hornets, were postponed in response to the fires. The Lakers also had a game previously scheduled for Thursday against the Hornets pushed back.

NBA POSTPONES SATURDAY'S LAKERS-SPURS, CLIPPERS-HORNETS GAMES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DUE TO WILDFIRES

"I pray this nightmare ends soon!" Lakers star forward LeBron James wrote Saturday on the social media platform X.

The Spurs had to change hotels due to fire concerns after arriving in Los Angeles, while the Heat arrived on Saturday night as scheduled.

The Lakers and Clippers also are both scheduled to host games on Wednesday, when the Lakers play host to the Heat and the Clippers play the Brooklyn Nets.

"When people are losing their homes, kids are losing schools, losing lives, it’s very difficult to approach the game of basketball because life is bigger than basketball," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters. "Hopefully we can bring some kind of joy with the game coming back tomorrow and some togetherness and try to put some smiles on people’s faces in tough times."

LEBRON JAMES SENDING 'SO MANY PRAYERS' AS LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES CONTINUE

Clippers' guard Terance Mann plans to search through a storage unit he keeps for useful items he intends to donate.

"I just want to give a lot of clothes, some money, shoes, whatever I can," he said. "I’m going to go help people out and donate and drive around and do what I can do to help."

Some members of the Clippers organization were forced to evacuate their homes during the fires. The team was on the road when the fires began, and star forward Kawhi Leonard left the team in Denver to help his family in Pacific Palisades evacuate.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said his family's rental home in Pacific Palisades burned on Tuesday night, destroying most of their belongings.

"I was not prepared for what I saw," Redick said Friday. "It’s complete devastation and destruction. I had to go a different way to the house, but I went through most of the village, and it’s all gone. I don’t think you can ever prepare yourself for something like that. Our home is gone."

The Lakers announced a donation drive for their upcoming games, starting Monday. The team has urged fans to bring new, in-the-package items to support the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank’s relief efforts.

The team's UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo will be used as a drive-thru donation center starting Tuesday, with essential non-food items listed as priorities, but packaged food items are also welcomed.

The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association, which is the players' union, announced on Friday a $1 million donation for immediate relief to the American Red Cross, World Central Kitchen and other organizations working to provide assistance to the victims and recovery efforts.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

As those in Southern California continue to deal with wildfire devastation, NFL legend Tom Brady is doing his part to help out the relief efforts. 

Brady partnered with Gopuff to deliver $250,000 of free water to those impacted by the wildfires. 

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power continues to send out alerts saying that unsafe water is in the area due to fire-related toxins in tap water. 

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So, customers of Gopuff, which has thousands of employees, 160-plus BevMo! Stores and a corporate office in California can use the code "CAStrong" at checkout to have fresh, and free, still water delivered up to $10.

Also, 30% off essentials, including food, batteries, electrolytes and more, is being offered by the company that also announced a donation of $150,000 worth of essentials last week.

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"Our hearts are with the thousands and thousands of people impacted by the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles," said Yakir Gola, Gopuff co-founder and co-CEO, in a statement. "We are extremely grateful for first responders’ round-the-clock efforts to keep our communities safe and for our team leaders’ tireless efforts to support our employees in the area. 

"To do our part to support first responders and anyone who’s impacted locally, we’ve partnered with Tom Brady to give away $250K worth of water to those in the LA area and will continue to monitor the situation and support however we can."

Brady joined Gopuff in June 2024 in a multiyear strategic partnership in which he said he would be hands-on with the instant commerce leader. 

"Since my first time using Gopuff, I’ve been amazed by how fast and seamless the deliveries are, offering so many different options right at your fingertips," said Brady in an official press release of the partnership announcement. "I’m excited to be working with the Gopuff team to continue to drive innovation and help create an even better experience for their customers."

California authorities have confirmed a new death toll of 16 as the wildfires continued to rage around Los Angeles on Sunday. Thousands have lost their homes as first responders continue to try to get control over the flames. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom has invited President-elect Donald Trump to visit California amid the wildfires and fighting over budget decisions. The governor has faced criticism for approving a budget that slashed $100 million in firefighting and fire prevention funding.

Newsom did issue an executive order on Sunday to remove some regulatory hurdles and procedures to accelerate rebuilding homes and business faster.

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