LOS ANGELES − As multiple wildfires continue to burn through Southern California, evacuation orders remain in place throughout the region through at least Thursday. Authorities continue to investigating the causes of three wildfires that began burning in Southern California on Tuesday and two fires that sparked north of Los Angeles and in Hollywood on Wednesday.

President-elect Donald Trump is blaming Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) for the mass destruction caused by fires tearing through Los Angeles — an escalation in the pair’s water wars.

Trump has said he would turn on “a very large faucet” that could send millions of gallons of water from the Columbia River to Los Angeles.

After President-elect Donald Trump blamed Gov. Gavin Newsom for the Los Angeles County wildfires, the California leader invited the incoming president to travel to the state to meet with victims and survey the damage.

The California fires are highlighting a serious issue across the nation as insurance carriers drop coverage or decide not to renew policies based on risk.

In 2019, the number of homeowners’ policies in California that were not renewed jumped by more than thirty per cent. In 2023, two giant insurers, State Farm and Allstate, announced that they would stop writing new policies for various forms of property insurance in California.