A California mom who confronted Gov. Gavin Newsom over his handling of the response to devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County called on him to clean things up and fix the situation so residents can start dealing with the aftermath of the blaze.
Rachel Darvish ran up to Newsom, who was about to enter a black SUV, explaining that her daughter’s school had been destroyed.
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“Please, tell me what you’re going to do,” Darvish, who is an attorney, said.
Newsom replied that he was attempting to reach President Biden so he could figure out what they could do to help Darvish and her daughter.
President Joe Biden, front, can be seen alongside California Gov. Gavin Newsom following a briefing about the devastating southern California wildfires on Jan. 8, 2025. (CBS Pool)
“Can I hear? Can I hear your call? Because I don’t believe it,” she responded. Newsom pointed to his phone, claiming he had poor cell service and was unable to reach the president.
Darvish told “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Thursday that she wanted to believe Newsom was telling the truth about attempting to get in touch with Biden.
“I really want to believe him. I really want to, and there was no cell phone reception in certain areas, OK? But that’s a big problem in and of itself. Why doesn’t he have a satellite truck with a cell phone?” she asked.
A Super SCooper plane drops water on the Palisades fire on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Pacific Palisades, CA. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Biden met with Newsom on Wednesday to get briefed on the multiple infernos raging across California.
The president approved a major disaster declaration for the Golden State and announced Thursday the federal government would pay for “100%” of the disaster response costs related to the wildfires for 180 days.
Darvish said Pacific Palisades has historically had fires and was uncertain why the response was slow.
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“I walked out of my house after I got a notification of a fire and I packed up and left because the fire was right there. On my way down, I didn’t see a single fire truck coming to help me,” she told Fox News host Jesse Watters.
Fire engulfs a structure as the Palisades Fire burns during a windstorm on the west side of Los Angeles, California, U.S. January 8, 2025. (REUTERS/Ringo Chiu)
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She added that it’s not the firefighters’ fault because orders “come from the top.”
As for Newsom, she said, “Governor, can you just clean this up and fix it and move on? At least, that’s what I would like to see. But will that happen? I don’t know. You know, these guys are entrenched in what they do.”