Gavin Newsom launches website to battle wildfire ‘misinformation,’ says California ‘did NOT’ cut firefighting budget

“A lot of misinformation out there,” Newsom wrote in a post on X. ”Just launched a new site to ensure the public has access to fact-based data around the Southern CA wildfires.”

Newsom highlighted several ongoing claims in his post promoting the website, Californiafirefacts.com. He denied reports that the state cut the firefighting budget and instead has “nearly doubled the size of our firefighting army and built the world’s largest aerial firefighting fleet.” He also argued that the state has increased forest management “ten-fold” since he took office and that the state will “not allow for looting.”

This initiative comes as Newsom faces sharp criticism over his handling of the ongoing fires, which Newsom has pushed back against. Newsom’s office accused the California Assembly Republicans of promoting "flat out false and misleading information" after they claimed the governor had "cut funding for fire prevention by 80%" since 2021. The governor’s office also claimed that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's budget has almost doubled since Newsom took office in 2019.

A report by Newsweek on Friday added to the controversy, revealing that the 2024–25 state budget signed by Newsom included a $101 million reduction in wildfire and forest resilience funding, despite an overall increase to CAL FIRE’s budget. Newsom dismissed these reports as a “ridiculous lie.”

Newsom has also come under fire from President-elect Donald Trump, who criticized the governor's lack of mitigation efforts before the wildfires broke out.

“Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snowmelt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California,” Trump posted on Truth social last week.