California Gov. Newsom under fire for prioritizing wildfire response over other issues.

A California lawmaker is advocating for significant alterations in wildfire management and prevention.

Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher stated that the issue lies in the fact that there are many similarities and he is unsure if we truly learn from the lessons of the past, as he told Planet Chronicle Digital.

The 2019 Paradise fire, which affected Gallagher's district, prompted him to emphasize the need for more action to combat and prevent catastrophic wildfires in California.

"The fire that devastated the community was a catastrophic wind-driven fire, and we can still see the movement of dead and dying timber and underbrush on federal land," Gallagher stated.

"Over the past seven years, from Paradise to the Palisades, we have witnessed numerous catastrophic fires, and California's leadership has not done an effective job of addressing the root cause of the problem."

Gallagher stated that the response of state and local leadership to the wildfires has been "inadequate."

Gallagher continued, 'When you just look at water not coming out of fire hydrants and then nobody seems to know why. And then the governor says, "Well, I'm going to investigate it," it's just kind of a sideshow in a time when we need real definitive, strong leadership.'

"it's just kind of a sideshow in a time when we need real definitive…"

"DeSantis' handling of hurricanes in Florida and Gavin's management of this disaster provide a stark contrast in leadership."

Izzy Gardon, the communications director for Newsom's office, defended the governor's wildfire management.

Gardon stated to Planet Chronicle Digital that the Governor's primary concern is safeguarding individuals, rather than engaging in politics, and ensuring that firefighters have access to all necessary resources.

"The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need."

The governor's office released a letter stating that although overall water supply in Southern California is not a problem, water mobility during the initial response was an issue.

The full, independent review of LADWP ordered by @CAGovernor Newsom is crucial to prevent a recurrence of the incident, as stated in the post on X.

While the current situation in California is tragic, it's crucial that we all unite to aid in recovery, followed by addressing the root causes of the problems in California.

The absence of infrastructure and inadequate management of our lands are causing communities to be unsafe, according to Gallagher.

In 2021, Gallagher and other lawmakers advocated for $1 billion in funding to combat and prevent catastrophic wildfires. They emphasized the need to address both wildfire prevention and issues with the state insurance market. However, there has been a significant reduction in appropriations since then.

"Gavin Newsom and the Democrats have been failing to prioritize the fundamental duties of government, such as public safety, public goods, and infrastructure, while focusing on liberal pipe dreams."

Under Governor Newsom's leadership, CalFIRE's budget has nearly doubled since 2019, going from $2 billion to $3.8 billion.

Southern California's water reservoirs are at record levels, and there is no water shortage in the region.

There is a lot of false information circulating about CA's firefighting budget. The truth is that CA has not reduced our firefighting budget, but instead, we have significantly increased it. We have nearly doubled the size of our firefighting army and built the world's largest aerial firefighting fleet. Additionally, since taking office, CA has increased forest management ten-fold.

Senator Dahle, a Republican, accused Newsom of abandoning California's fire victims by vetoing a bill aimed at protecting them, which Newsom denies.

"Newsom betrayed wildfire victims by vetoing my bill, SB 542, which would have exempted settlement payments awarded to victims of the 2022 Mill Fire & 2021 Dixie Fire from being subject to income taxes. I'm sure he plans on taxing SoCal residents on their settlement payments too!"

Newsom's office stated that he fully supports the purpose of these bills.

In 2022, I passed legislation that provided tax exclusions for settlement claims resulting from catastrophic wildfires that occurred in the preceding five years. In doing so, I emphasized the need for future measures like these to be included in the annual budget process due to their impact on the General Fund. The following year, the Legislature enacted an income tax exclusion for an additional wildfire in the 2023-24 Budget Act. As a result, I urge the Legislature to include these proposals in next year's budget framework.

Several lawmakers criticized Newsom for holding a "special session" to protect the state from Trump's policies and including wildfire relief on the agenda.

Assemblymember Greg Wallis, a Republican, wrote on X that the political games regarding the fires are officially over and it is incorrect to propose attaching conditions to federal disaster relief.

"The California special session funding bill should not be tied to fire relief funds, as it is not appropriate to politicize disaster aid. Instead, let's prioritize assisting the victims and quickly distributing the necessary relief funds."

Brian Jones, the Senate Minority Leader and a Republican, agreed with Wallis that Newsom's special session was disrespectful.

Jones wrote in a post on X that Democrat lawmakers seem to be divided on the issue of Newsom's special session, which combines essential emergency funding for the LA fires with $50 million in politically motivated funding to sue Trump.

Jones implored his Democrat colleagues to abandon Newsom's divisive political agenda and concentrate solely on disaster relief. The $50 million would be more effectively utilized assisting fire victims in their recovery and rebuilding efforts. Jones urged his colleagues to abandon political angles and conditions on aid, emphasizing that fire victims deserved a respectful and non-partisan response.

Due to the ongoing threat of wildfires, the special session scheduled for Tuesday was canceled.

Planet Chronicle Digital's Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

Stepheny Price is a writer for Planet Chronicle Digital and Fox Business. If you have story tips or ideas, you can send them to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]).