The fallout from the devastating Palisades Fire continues to expose cracks in California’s leadership, with celebrities and residents alike taking to social media to voice their outrage. What began as a massive wildfire fueled by Santa Ana winds has quickly turned into a full-blown reckoning for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom. Critics are highlighting glaring issues like water shortages, unprepared infrastructure, and questionable priorities—all while leadership appears absent or indifferent.
Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar ignited the discussion with a pointed Instagram post criticizing Los Angeles officials for failing to manage evacuation routes. “City of LA, you want everyone to evacuate yet you have complete gridlock and not one traffic cop on the roads helping,” she wrote, tagging Mayor Bass directly.
I lost a home in the 2018 Woolley fire. Was in Cali for New Years this year and podcasts – just evacuated my mom from her California home. The mayor is apparently in Ghana. The fire departments budget was apparently cut by 17 mil. And someone made the decision to not refill some…
— Jillian Michaels (@JillianMichaels) January 8, 2025
Meanwhile, former “Dancing with the Stars” pro Valentin Chmerkovskiy and model Amber Rose both blasted the lack of water pressure available to firefighters. Chmerkovskiy called it “unbelievable” that the fifth-largest economy in the world could face “3rd world infrastructure,” while Rose echoed disbelief that fire hydrants in Los Angeles were barely functioning.
Actress Sara Foster’s comments went viral after she slammed California’s far-left policies for their role in the crisis. “Our fire hydrants were empty. Our vegetation was overgrown. Our reservoirs were emptied by our governor because tribal leaders wanted to save fish. Our fire department budget was cut by our mayor,” Foster posted on X, tagging both Newsom and Bass while demanding their resignation.
In 2014 voters in California put 2.7 billion toward securing future water storage through prop 1. 2025 – not a single reservoir is complete.
Over 30,000 people have been evacuated. 1400 brave fire fighters put their lives at risk. They deserve better. This is an outrage…— Jillian Michaels (@JillianMichaels) January 8, 2025
Fitness trainer Jillian Michaels, who lost her home in the 2018 Woolsey Fire, offered sharp criticism of California’s leadership, calling out both Newsom and Bass for decisions that left firefighters underfunded and water resources drained. “The fire department’s budget was apparently cut by $17 million,” Michaels wrote, “and someone made the decision not to refill some of the reservoirs.” She labeled this failure as “pure incompetence and misprioritization.”
Actor James Woods, who lost his home in the Palisades Fire, took aim at California’s leadership on X, writing, “This isn’t about climate change; this is about liberal idiots like Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass who don’t understand the first thing about fire management.” Woods’ posts reflected the anger of many who feel California’s leadership has consistently prioritized political optics over practical solutions.
While leadership fumbled, community members and celebrities stepped up. Actor Steve Guttenberg personally assisted by clearing abandoned cars from evacuation routes, allowing fire trucks to pass through. “It’s like Zombieland,” Guttenberg remarked, describing the scene of deserted streets filled with abandoned vehicles. His efforts highlighted the grassroots problem-solving missing at higher levels of government.
California governor @GavinNewsom issues a press release admitting they knew about the insane fire risk this past Sunday because he was propositioning fire engines. And yet, he just called in the national guard a few hours ago. Pacific Palisades ran out of water at 3am. I’m so…
— Jillian Michaels (@JillianMichaels) January 8, 2025
The crisis has reignited questions about California’s preparedness for wildfires, a recurring issue in the state. Actor Dean Cain appeared on Fox & Friends, describing the situation as a “perfect storm of mismanagement.” Fellow actor Zachary Levi, speaking on Jesse Watters Primetime, questioned whether the failures amounted to “criminal intentionality,” given the repeated shortcomings in fire management and infrastructure.
