On social networks, a lot of false information is circulating about the fires which have affected the Californian metropolis for a week. Franceinfo verified six of these misleading allegations with very political overtones.
A week after the fires started in Los Angeles, firefighters are still battling the flames. The death toll from the fires increased further on Tuesday January 14. There are at least 24 dead, more than 12,000 buildings destroyed or damaged, entire neighborhoods reduced to ashes, and another 88,000 residents called to evacuate their homes.
While the investigation to determine the origin of the fires continues, numerous false information and images are circulating on social networks. Some Internet users, influencers and politicians do not hesitate to distort reality to criticize the management of the tragedy by the democratic authorities, at the head of the City of Angels and the State of California. Franceinfo verified six of these viral claims.
1 Firefighters fight the flames with handbags due to lack of resources: false
Los Angeles firefighters “are forced to fight the flames with women's handbags as buckets”claimed the American conspiratorial influencer Alex Jones, who attributes this lack of resources to the aid sent to Ukraine, at war against Russia for almost three years. His message, posted on X on January 9, has been viewed more than 29 million times. In the accompanying video, we see a firefighter throwing water using a bag.
This allegation is false. The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) denied the use of handbags to the American media TMZ on January 9. The bags that can be seen in Alex Jones' video are “canvas bags that firefighters use for different purposes”, especially during fires. “Using a nozzle and connecting it to a fire hydrant can indeed take time, and using a canvas bag allows you to act quickly, which is essential in the event of rapid spread of flames”explained the firefighters.
As demonstrated France 24these same bags are regulatory equipment, used by firefighters to put out small fires. “It’s a simple but effective tool that can help prevent a small fire from turning into a major disaster,” specifies the American site Firefighterline.
Customary of false information and supporter of Donald Trump, Alex Jones was sentenced in October 2022 to pay $965 million in compensation (approximately 915.5 million euros) for denying the reality of the Sandy Hook school massacre in 2012.
2 fire trucks were blocked for polluting emissions tests: false
Around sixty trucks coming from Oregon were prevented from responding to the fires because they did not meet the standards imposed by California in terms of pollution, according to a very popular pro-Trump account on X, which shares a short video of the alleged scene. This false information went viral after a newspaper article Santa Monica Observer.
The Oregon State Fire Marshal denied these comments on January 12 in a statement on X:“False information is being spread on social media and in the media claiming that our equipment had to pass emissions tests and that our equipment and firefighters were turned away or delayed. To be clear: this is false.” The trucks were indeed stopped in Sacramento and suffered “a routine security check” to check the condition of the engines, but they continued on their way.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection also refuted the accusations. “All vehicles originating from out of state have been equipped and are heading to or arriving in Southern California.”he clarified on Facebook. THE Santa Monica Observer, who had relayed the false information, has since corrected his article.
3 California Governor Blames Water Supply Problem: False
Donald Trump and some Internet users have accused Gavin Newsom, Democratic governor of California, of being “responsible” Los Angeles fires. The president-elect criticized him on January 8 on his platform Truth Social, to have “refused to sign the restoration declaration…which would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rains and snowmelt from the North, to flow daily into many areas of California”.
If there were indeed water supply problems during the fires, the arguments used by Donald Trump are unfounded. According to the American fact-checking site Snopesthe president-elect is referring to a project proposed in 2019 that aimed to deliver water from Northern California to farms and urban areas in Southern California. However, this project risked endangering an endangered species of fish.
Gavin Newsom therefore opposed it, against the advice of the Trump administration at the time. But he never refused to sign such an agreement, because no contract saw the light of day. The governor's press service denied the billionaire's comments on X : “There is no such document as the Water Restoration Declaration – it is pure fiction.” Furthermore, there is no indication that this plan would have had an impact on the water supply.
-In a press conference On January 8, Los Angeles authorities assured that the tanks were full or three-quarters full before the fires. The reported water supply problems are therefore due to demand “four times higher than usual for 15 hours” as well as at altitude.
4 Billions for illegal immigrants but not for fires: false
“The Fema [l’Agence fédérale de gestion des situations d’urgence] spent billions on illegal immigrants and now has no money for California”a detractor from the Democratic camp was indignant on January 8, on X. This type of argument is not new: it was invoked by Donald Trump to criticize his rival Kamala Harrisduring the presidential campaign, after the passage of hurricanes Hélène and Milton in the American Southeast.
In reality, the federal agency still has financial resources. At the end of December, the government further granted Fema nearly 29 billion dollars, through a bill adopted by Congress and signed by outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden, in particular to respond to Hélène and Milton. The agency now has a balance of $27 billion to respond to California's megafires, according to an agency spokesperson interviewed by the fact-checking media Politifact.
In a communiqué dated January 12, Fema encourages Californians to seek help from the agency to “cover certain costs, such as paying for essential items, finding accommodation, replacing personal property, or making basic repairs to your home” in case their insurance “would not cover basic needs”.
There is indeed a migrant accommodation assistance program, administered by Fema, in partnership with the United States Customs and Border Protection. Funded by the US Congress to the tune of $650 million, according to the agency websiteit differs from the disaster relief fund used in connection with the Los Angeles fires.
5 The mayor of Los Angeles reduced the budget dedicated to firefighters: misleading
Karen Bass, Democratic mayor of Los Angeles, is also under fire. “The city of Los Angeles under Karen Bass cut the firefighting budget by about $18 million”castigated Ian Miles Cheong, a conservative Malaysian blogger, on January 9 on Xin a message seen a million times. The same day, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley told Fox News 11 that the Los Angeles Fire Department was “insufficiently funded”. “The budget was reduced and this had an impact on the quality of our service”she lamented.
According to a LAFD document (available PDF) of July 2024, the fire department budget has fallen significantly, from $837.2 million for the 2023-2024 fiscal year to $819.6 millions for 2024-2025, a reduction of approximately $17.6 million. A smaller reduction than that proposed by Karen Bass in April ($23 million). However, this decline should be qualified because these figures do not provide a complete picture of the situation, explained Jake Flynn, communications director for Los Angeles City Councilor Bob Blumenfield, to the American media Snopes.
On November 5, 2024, the Los Angeles City Council approved a memorandum of understanding adding $76 million for firefighters' salaries to the budget. Taking this addition into account, the total budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year actually increased from the previous year. However, the situation is not all rosy: in a memo of December 2024, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley deplored the negative impact of a reduction in certain expenses on the operational capacity of her department.
6 African Americans caught looting homes: false
A black man, wearing a branded hoodie, bending under the weight of a large white bag. Another man, in bright red sportswear, filmed carrying a video out of a house, at number 161. “The usual suspects are still looting”accused an Internet user on XJanuary 9. The post, viewed more than 4 million times, has since been deleted. This viral video is actually taken out of context, as noted by the American media Los Angeles Chronicles, Logically Facts et Snopes.
Indeed, some people in this video appear in a reportage live from the channel local television KTLA. A mother from the town of Altadena, in Los Angeles County, describes people who helped her in her evacuation as “[ses] brothers [qui] work for the city of Altadena”she explained. “He pulled out everything he could.”said the resident, regarding an employee who assisted her. A man dressed in a dark hooded sweatshirt and beige pants appears on the doorstep of the house, at number 161. As for the man in red sportswear, he also appears in the report .
In summary, people wrongly presented as looters were in reality helping this resident. However, looting did take place during the California fires, with some criminals even disguising themselves as firefighters, according to a sheriff interviewed by the KTLA channel. Nearly 60 suspects were arrested, nine of whom were charged, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced Jan. 13 on Facebook.
