Elon Musk and Donald Trump Spread Disinformation Amid LA Wildfires

As fires rage across Los Angeles, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes, familiar figures have taken to blaming the blazes on their political adversaries. President-elect Donald Trump, in a series of posts on Truth Social, attributed firefighters' struggles to manage the wildfires to California Governor Gavin Newsom's water policies. Trump criticized efforts to "protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt" as a reason for reduced water availability, stating "it didn’t work!" Meanwhile, Elon Musk suggested on X that diversity, equity, and inclusion policies within the fire department were exacerbating the wildfires, encapsulating his sentiment with "DEI means people DIE."

The fires, including the devastating Eaton fire, have claimed the lives of five individuals thus far, and around 130,000 Los Angeles County residents are under evacuation orders. Nonetheless, the widespread destruction is not due to the delta smelt, DEI policies, or purported budget cuts to the Los Angeles Fire Department, contrary to claims by Trump, Musk, and various media outlets. Such misinformation has significant consequences, as illustrated by the threats leveled against FEMA workers in the aftermath of hurricanes Milton and Helene last year.

Initial disinformation centered around fire hydrants in Pacific Palisades, which suddenly ran dry as firefighters attempted to control the blaze. Trump asserted that these hydrants were dry because of Newsom’s water management policies and threatened to demand that "beautiful, clean, fresh water" be allowed into California. He erroneously claimed that Newsom had refused to sign a "water restoration declaration" which supposedly could have facilitated a flow of millions of gallons of water into California.

Responding to these claims, Newsom's office clarified that such a "water restoration declaration" does not exist, with the governor’s communications director, Izzy Gardon, calling it "pure fiction." The supportive rhetoric from Mark Gold, a board member of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, reinforced the reality that statewide water management policies aren't linked to fire hydrant failures. He emphasized the district's historical water storage capacity amidst a changing climate as the true challenge.

The dry hydrants in Pacific Palisades were actually a result of reduced water pressure caused by heightened demand. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's chief executive, Janisse Quiñones, attributed this to the heightened usage coupled with the inability to refill tanks quickly enough. This situation intensified as the Santa Ana winds spread fires to Altadena, Pasadena, and the Hollywood Hills.

Right-wing influencers and Musk have accused local officials of reducing fire department budgets and prioritizing diversity over fire prevention strategy. However, contrary to claims of budget cuts made by critics across the political spectrum, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass actually increased the fire department budget by over $50 million, although she did reduce the overtime budget. Fire chief Kristin Crowley noted this reduction had impaired the department's emergency response capacity.

The discussion on X is further complicated by the proliferation of AI-generated images depicting false scenes such as looters in the Palisades and the Hollywood sign engulfed in flames, perpetuating the spread of disinformation.