Firefighters are tackling a new brush fire — dubbed the Sepulveda Fire — near Interstate 405 and Sepulveda Blvd in Los Angeles. The fire sparked hours after fire crews started to achieve some containment on the Hughes Fire, which spread rapidly Wednesday afternoon in a Los Angeles County suburb.

Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley has come under attack for her handling of the deadly wildfires. Several current and former LAFD battalion chiefs and administrators are calling for her retirement.

In a scathing five-page letter obtained by NewsNation, the group puts the number of fatalities and the loss of property at Crowley’s feet and says her retirement “would be best for the citizens of Los Angeles” and members of the department.

President-elect Donald Trump accused California Gov. Gavin Newsom of causing a water shortage during the January 2025 wildfires in Los Angeles County by refusing to sign a "water restoration declaration" in order to protect "an essentially worthless fish called a smelt."

Newsom's office said such a document never existed.

As Democratic officials in California, including in Los Angeles, continued to expand so-called sanctuary city protections for illegal foreign nationals and fight President-elect Donald Trump’s deportation plans, at least one alleged California arsonist has been confirmed to be in the U.S. illegally with an extensive criminal record, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Gov. Gavin Newsom defended his handling of the raging fires in the Los Angeles area with a new website intended to combat "misinformation" that also links to Democratic Party fundraising giant ActBlue, Fox News Digital found. 

Robby Soave and Lynda Tran weigh in on Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) sitting down with Pod Save America podcast as the California wildfires continue to rage.

Wildfires are still burning in the Los Angeles area, but state and city leaders are already looking ahead to rebuilding efforts.

On Sunday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to suspend portions of the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Coastal Act for fire victims planning to start over with their homes or businesses.

After the first rally in her campaign for mayor of Los Angeles in 2021, Karen Bass spoke candidly about what she saw as a potential drawback to the job — a lack of world travel and involvement in global affairs.

Ms. Bass was accustomed to circling the globe as a Democratic member of Congress and of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and had spent decades working on U.S.-Africa relations. It was one of the most absorbing parts of her political career, she told The New York Times in an interview on Oct. 17, 2021, at her home in the Baldwin Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was ready to help California battle its devastating wildfires, offering to send 150 Ukrainian firefighters to aid the ravaged state.

“Today, I instructed Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs and our diplomats to prepare for the possible participation of our rescuers in combating the wildfires in California,” Zelenskyy said on social media.