“We must not politicize human tragedy or spread disinformation from the sidelines,” Newsom said in his letter to Trump as reported by Politico. “Hundreds of thousands of Americans – displaced from their homes and fearful for the future – deserve to see all of us working in their best interests to ensure a fast recovery and rebuild.”

Newsom cited President Joe Biden issuing a disaster declaration earlier this week and committing federal funding to cover the initial costs to fight the wildfires and remove debris over the next six months.

“We are thankful that President Biden has swiftly approved our major disaster declaration – a strong indication of the partnership California needs and appreciates with any federal administration,” Newsom said in his letter to Trump.

“The threat to lives and property remains acute,” Newsom said. “Higher-than-normal winds of up to 70 miles per hour are still forecast for the next several days, and more extreme winds are likely early next week with no change to dry conditions.”

Newsom wrote Trump after the President-elect earlier in the week faulted California’s governor for past policy decisions, such as not building more reservoirs to capture snow melt and runoff from rainstorms.

Newson “refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the north, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” Trump said Wednesday in Truth Social post.

“He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California,” Trump said. “Now the ultimate price is being paid.”

Newsom’s office said, “There is no such document as the water restoration declaration – that is pure fiction.”

In 2019, Trump had a proposal to redirect water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to Central Valley farms and Southern California urban areas. California officials and environmentalists were successful in challenging it because they argued the rules would endanger wildlife in the Delta, including smelt fish.

Trump said he will “demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to flow into California! He is [to] blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, no firefighting planes. A true disaster!”

An unnamed representative for Trump told Politico the president-elect would provide California with disaster-relief assistance.