California wildfires claim 16 lives; Donald Trump calls it ‘One of the worst catastrophes’ in US history

California [US], January 12 (ANI): US President-elect Donald Trump expressed anger as the southern Californian fires continued to rage on. Calling it "one of the worst catastrophes" in the history of the US, he lashed out over the inability of authorities to put out the fires.
Donald Trump shared his views on Truth Social.
"The fires are still raging in L.A. The incompetent pols have no idea how to put them out. Thousands of magnificent houses are gone, and many more will soon be lost. There is death all over the place. This is one of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Country. They just can't put out the fires. What's wrong with them?", the President-elect wrote.

A lot of misinformation out there.

Just launched a new site to ensure the public has access to fact-based data around the Southern CA wildfires.

The TRUTH:
- CA did NOT cut our firefighting budget. We have nearly doubled the size of our firefighting army and built the world’s…
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) January 11, 2025

According to the New York Post citing officials, at least 16 people have been killed in the wildfires.
Nearly 2,00,000 have been displaced due to the raging fires. As many as 10,000 structures along with entire residential neighbourhoods have been destroyed.
As per the New York Post, while the Sunset fire has been contained, the Hurst fire has burnt 771 acres of land, the Kenneth fire has burnt 959 acres, the Eaton fire has burnt 13,690 acres, and the most destructive impact has been of the Palisades fire which has burnt 19,978 acres of land.
At least 35,000 acres of land have burned down, an area about two-and-a-half times the size of Manhattan.
On Sunday (local time), California's Governor, Gavin Newsom warned people against falling for misinformation regarding the Southern Californian wildfires.
In a post on X, he said, "A lot of misinformation out there. Just launched a new site to ensure the public has access to fact-based data around the Southern CA wildfires. The TRUTH: - CA did NOT cut our firefighting budget. We have nearly doubled the size of our firefighting army and built the world's largest aerial firefighting fleet. - CA has INCREASED forest management ten-fold since we took office. - California will NOT allow for looting."
https://x.com/GavinNewsom/status/1878203590197862416
The New York Post, citing a report by AccuWeather noted that the devastating fires in Los Angeles could cause more than USD 50 billion in damages, making them the most costly in state's history. (ANI)