Trump falsely claimed that Newsom “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.” 

• There is no “water restoration declaration”: From Forbes: “Newsom’s office called Trump’s claim ‘pure fiction’ in a tweet that said ‘there is no such document as the water restoration declaration,’ adding that Newsom ‘is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need.’” [Forbes, 1/8/25]
• California does export water from Northern to Southern California – but it’s intended to address water scarcity issues mainly related to farming. Some of the water is used residentially including in Los Angeles, however the majority of the area's water comes from the Owens Valley east of the Sierra Nevada and groundwater. Cal Matters explained: “In December, the Biden administration and state officials agreed to a new long-term operating plan for the Delta water projects. … The new rules adjust water allocations for cities and farms and attempt to restore depleted populations of salmon and other fish, including the endangered Delta smelt. Some Central Valley farmers and Southern California cities will see more water and have endorsed the plan, while some farmers will get less. Water exports from the Delta to the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California via the State Water Project increase under the new plan.” [Cal Matters, 1/8/25, 12/20/24]
• Addressing the habitat of the delta smelt, which was designated as endangered, is mandated by federal not state law. Rather than capitulating to environmentalists, as Trump has suggested, the rules allocating water from the Delta water system have been criticized for not going far enough to protect smelt. [Los Angeles Times, 10/2/24; CBS, 7/30/24]
• Water intended for farmland would not prevent fires in LA or the wildland urban interface zones that are prone to wildfires. Forbes reported: Trump has long argued that water from the North should be sent to farms in the South and Central Valley, which he claims will moisten the ground, preventing wildfires, however, “there’s no evidence that sending more water to farmers would help prevent wildfires as most of the fires do not occur on farmland and the three major fires burning in Los Angeles now are attributed to drought and wind conditions.” [Forbes, 1/8/25]
• The nonexistent water restoration declaration would have done nothing to prevent the fires or extinguish them. Cal Matters explained that the “fires burning in Los Angeles County were fanned by severe winds and exacerbated by near-zero rainfall throughout Southern California. But sending more water south from the Bay-Delta would have done nothing to prevent them or extinguish them.” That’s in part because it wouldn’t have been used to water the drought-stricken land around LA and because water supply is not the issue, but rather the limitations of a municipal water system not designed to handle several active wildfires. [Cal Matters, 1/8/25; Forbes, 1/8/25] 
• LA officials say the water pressure in the hydrants was low because of unprecedented demand, not because of lack of water. According to the LA Times, “Before the fire, all 114 tanks that supply the city water infrastructure were completely filled,” but the firefighting efforts required four times the normal demand, for 15 hours, which reduced water pressure. Fact-checker Verify noted, “Fire hydrants used by firefighters ran out of water because of high water demand that is outpacing the speed at which water service officials can replenish the tanks,” and quoted water policy expert Jeff Mount, who said, “At no time during this fire has there been a shortage of water in southern California. Their reservoirs are full. And there is nothing to be done with water that would have changed the course of these fires.” [Los Angeles Times, 1/8/25; Verify, 1/8/25]
• Even in the best circumstances, the wind speed and dry conditions exacerbated by climate change are making these wildfires extremely volatile and hard to combat. AP News reported: “Fires don’t usually blaze at this time of year, but specific ingredients have come together to defy the calendar in a fast and deadly manner. Start with supersized Santa Ana winds whipping flames and embers at 100 mph — much faster than normal — and cross that with the return of extreme drought. Add on weather whiplash that grew tons of plants in downpours then record high temperatures that dried them out to make easy-to-burn fuel.” The winds also grounded water-drop helicopters which contributed to the high demand for hydrant water. [AP News, 1/9/25; The San Francisco Chronicle, 1/8/25]
• U.S. communities and infrastructure are ill-prepared for the climate-fueled extreme weather events that are now happening year round. On X, CBS national correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti posted, “American homes were built for an environment that no longer exists. This - like all of the disasters this century, from Florida to Hawaii - must be a call to action. This is the second time in one month Malibu was hit by fire.” In a 2019 New York magazine article, then-Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, speaking of the extreme nature of California wildfires, said, “There’s no number of helicopters or trucks that we can buy, no number of firefighters that we can have, no amount of brush that we can clear that will stop this.” [Twitter/X, 1/8/25; Twitter/X, 1/8/25]

• Right-wing reporter Nick Sortor claimed LA County “REFUSED to refill reservoirs.” He wrote: “#BREAKING: Los Angeles fire hydrants are OUT OF WATER because the county REFUSED to refill reservoirs, per Rick Caruso. ‘You can’t fight a fire without water!’ The Mayor did ZERO prep despite the advanced warning of winds and fire risk. This is EXACTLY what happened on Maui!” [Twitter/X, 1/8/25]
• Right-wing anti-LGBTQ account Libs of TikTok claimed on X that “Los Angeles refused to fill the water reservoirs and now there’s no water in the fire hydrants to fight the fires.” The account added: “People are fleeing for their lives while watching their homes & businesses burn to the ground. This is incompetence at the highest level.” [Twitter/X, 1/8/25]
• Right-wing influencer and podcaster Benny Johnson amplified Trump’s claims, posting on X: “BREAKING: Trump scathes California Governor Gavin Newsom, demanding he allow more water ‘to flow into California’ amid his failure to supply LA County.” [X/Twitter, 1/8/25]
• Fox host Jesse Watters blamed Newsom and the supposed water restoration declaration for the hydrant issue. He said: “A couple years ago, Donald Trump issued an order to send water from Northern California to Southern California, and Gavin Newsom sued Donald Trump to block it. Why? Because of smelt, Dana. It's the size of my pinky, this fish. It’s supposedly an endangered species. … And you know what just happened? There is no water coming out of the fire hydrant because this man mismanages the water there.” [Fox News, The Five, 1/8/25]
• Fox host Sean Hannity tied Trump’s water claim to the LA fires. “In deep-blue California, one party, they have all the power; there is no oversight. There is no  accountability,” he said. “They have been catering to the radical environmentalists over people’s safety for decades. You know, they can have limited control burns. They can have brush removal, which is the kindling for these fires. Just like when they denied — you might recall, we were in the San Joaquin Valley, and they were denying literally, you know, thousands and thousands of acres of farmland, water. Farmers were not allowed to farm in favor of a little mineral fish called the delta smelt. We went out there and covered that story. It's not even an endangered species, but they gave the water to the delta smelt and not the farmers.” [Fox News, Hannity, 1/8/25]
• Climate denier and frequent Fox News guest Steve Milloy claimed that one reason the “California fire hydrants have no water” is that Newsom diverted water from Southern California. He posted: “Some reasons California fire hydrants have no water: 1. Gavin Newsom diverts 100 billion gallons of water per year away from Southern California and instead dumps it into the Pacific ocean to save the delta smelt. 2. Newsom has failed to build reservoirs as required by law. 3. The local fire hydrant system does not have adequate storage tanks for large wildfires.” [Twitter/X, 1/9/25]
• The Fox & Friends hosts blamed Newsom for a lack of water to fight the fires. “For anybody that didn’t have a fire truck that could pour water on their house, it was because of a fish that is functionally extinct – if that’s true, then people are going to be up in arms,” said co-host Steve Doocy. “Oh it’s true,” replied co-host Ainsley Earhardt. “Trump has consistently argued that we should be getting — that California should be getting more water from Northern California and northern states, and even from Canada,” added co-host Brian Kilmeade. “And let it flow into Southern California for the farmers as well as for the firefighters. And they reversed it. Joe Biden, Gov. Newsom, with environmental causes in mind, they reversed it.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 1/9/25]
• Fox Business host Larry Kudlow said there is “a good deal of evidence that suggests that the blue state California politicians have in fact made the tragedy worse.” He continued: “Officials failed to properly refill reservoirs, and consequently there was no water in the fire hydrants of several key neighborhoods. The mayor’s office cut the fire department budget, and in order to preserve — I guess in order to preserve an obscure fish called the smelt — or at least they just had their own reasons for cutting the budget. Gov. Newsom cut the water flow that never got to Southern California, also in defense of this obscure fish called smelts.” [Fox Business, Kudlow, 1/9/25]
• One America News host Dan Bell said California democrats have “blood” on their hands before arguing that Trump’s claims can be verified by the fact that the hydrants ran dry. “You liberal Democrats running that city, county, and the state have blood on your hands tonight,” he said, going on to read Trump’s post. [One America New, Real America with Dan Bell, 1/8/25]
• Murdoch media property The New York Post pushed Trump’s claims uncritically in an article arguing that Newsom passed the blame for dry hydrants to local authorities. “Both Newsom and local government officials, like Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, have been blasted for alleged mismanagement that may have worsened the devastation,” the piece stated. [The New York Post, 1/9/25]