Los Angeles releases latest updates: At least 16 people dead in California wildfires, five in Palisades, as crews move forward containing one blaze

Former California Governor Jerry Brown has sharply criticized US President-elect Donald Trump’s criticism of Democratic officials’ handling of the Los Angeles wildfires.

Trump sharply criticized California Democrats’ handling of the emergency, accusing California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of “gross incompetence.”

In today’s Truth Social post, Trump calls the wildfires “one of the worst disasters in the country’s history” and attacks Democrats again, saying, “They can’t just put out the fires. What’s wrong with them? “

Newsom sent a letter to X, external which he says was sent to Trump on Friday, inviting him to “meet with Americans affected by these fires” and “see the devastation firsthand.”

In an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Brown describes the “horror” of the Los Angeles fires and says it “shows the danger we live in.”

Brown adds that while the region has come a long way, it is not “disaster-proof.” Tackling climate change requires trillions of dollars every year, and he believes it must be done.

In response to Trump’s remarks, he states that “nature is nature and even Donald Trump, who is smart in many ways, cannot override the laws of physics.”

Soon “there will be a reduction to the absurdity of the idea that climate change is a hoax,” Brown adds.