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Join Telegram ChannelGov. Gavin Newsom defended his handling of the fires raging in the Los Angeles area with a new website aimed at combating “misinformation” that also links to Democratic Party fundraising giant ActBlue, Fox has found NewsDigital.
Fires have raged in the Los Angeles area since Tuesday, destroying thousands of acres and homes and leaving more than a dozen dead in their wake. Newsom, amid criticism of his handling of the fires, this weekend unveiled a new website to combat “misinformation” about fire prevention and emergency efforts in California, linking to a website that collects donations via ActBlue.
“There is a lot of misinformation. I just launched a new site to ensure the public has access to factual data about the wildfires in Southern California,” Newsom posted on X on Saturday.
“The TRUTH: – IT has NOT reduced our firefighting budget. We have almost doubled the size of our firefighting army and built the largest firefighting air fleet in the world.
“- CA has increased forest management tenfold since we took office.
“-California will NOT allow looting. Get the facts: http://californiafirefacts.com,” the message concludes.
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Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at the podium in California. (Getty Images)
Californiafirefacts.com lists a handful of “lies” promoted on social media and by media outlets along with Newsom's “facts” responding to the claims, before touting a donation button at the bottom of the website, Fox News Digital discovered early Sunday morning.
“Contribute to the California Fire Foundation,” the website says, identifying the fundraising effort as part of ActBlue, which will provide donations to firefighters and devastated communities.
“Please make a contribution to the California Fire Foundation. This is a tax-deductible donation and the money will go directly to supporting firefighters and the communities they serve, including direct financial support to affected residents” , adds the fundraising section of the website.
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A helicopter drops water on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
When clicking the donate button, the user is redirected to an ActBlue URL where people can make donations ranging from $25 to $1,000 – or a self-determined number. The donations page also features Newsom's Campaign for Democracy political action committee, saying it will sign up donors for text updates from the PAC.
Newsom's PAC was launched in 2023 and billed as an effort to strengthen Democrats in “extremist” GOP-led states. ActBlue is a massive Democratic PAC focused on small dollar donations that has supported Democratic elections and efforts to the tune of more than $16 billion since its founding in 2004, according to its website.
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ActBlue's URL promoting fire donations again clarifies that any donations made will go “directly” to “supporting firefighters and the communities they serve, including direct financial support to affected residents.”
Newsom's office told Fox News Digital that none of the donations made would be to the Democratic governor or his PAC.
“Not a dime of these donations goes to Gavin Newsom or his PAC. Governor Newsom is proud to have raised $450,000 for the Fire Foundation in small dollar contributions during these fires and is grateful to the people across the country who came together to help Californians in their time of need,” said Nathan Click, a spokesperson for Newsom. told Fox News Digital on Sunday.
Governor Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters following the debate between President Biden and former President Trump June 27, 2024 in Atlanta. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images))
The ActBlue website states that donations made through the platform include a 3.95% processing fee, which is passed on “to groups using our platform.” The New York Post reported that ActBlue waived fees for fire donations, although the fundraising giant did not immediately respond to Fox Digital's request for comment on the reported fees.
Contributions made through ActBlue to charities are processed by AB Charities and include a 3.95% fee that covers the cost of processing the contributions, according to ActBlue. AB Charities' processing fees do not go to political candidates, according to the group.
Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren also called on the public to donate to those affected by the fires through an ActBlue link.
“To help the communities around Los Angeles devastated by the wildfires, can you split a donation between the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and United Way of Greater Los Angeles? 100% of your donation will go directly to these organizations,” posted Warren on X. Saturday.
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Community .secure.actblue.com/pricing.”
Fox Digital reached out to Warren's office Sunday morning for comment, but did not receive a response.
Conservatives and critics of the governor have spoken out on social media about the donation link through ActBlue, calling the move “shameful.”
Wildfires have destroyed at least 12,300 homes around the Los Angeles area in five days and left at least 16 people dead, while thousands more have been forced to evacuate. Residents, including Hollywood stars, criticized Newsom for his handling of the devastation, including fire hydrants that ran out of water amid the blaze.
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“Why was there no water in the fire hydrants?” asked a resident who confronted Newsom last week, according to Fox 11. “What are you going to do and is it going to be different next time, and I'll fill the hydrants myself.”
President-elect Trump called on Newsom to step down over the fires. (AP Images)
President-elect Trump, who has criticized Newsom for years for the state's repeated devastating wildfires, has called on the governor to resign over the fires.
“One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning. It's reduced to ashes and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!” » the president-elect said in a Truth Social article this week.
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A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Earlier in the week, Trump placed blame for the Los Angeles County fires on Newsom and his environmental policies.
“Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration submitted to him, which would have released millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snowmelt from the North , to flow daily into many areas of California, including areas currently on fire in a near-apocalyptic manner,” Trump posted Wednesday on Truth Social.
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“He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called smelt, by giving it less water (didn't work!), but he failed to do so. I care about the people of California. The ultimate price has now been paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to flow to CALIFORNIA! He is responsible for it. And to top it all off, no water for the fire hydrants, no firefighting planes. A real disaster!”
A plane takes off as smoke billows from the Palisades Fire at Mandeville Canyon in Los Angeles on January 11, 2025. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)
Newsom sent a letter to Trump, who will be inaugurated as the nation's 47th president on January 20, this weekend, inviting him to the scene of the fires.
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“In the spirit of this great country, we must not politicize human tragedy or spread misinformation from the sidelines. Hundreds of thousands of Americans – displaced from their homes and worried about the future – deserve to see all of us working in their best interests to ensure rapid recovery and rebuilding,” Newsom wrote.
“With respect and an open hand,” he wrote.