Actor James Woods expressed outrage over the handling of the recent devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, accusing state and local leadership of negligence.
In a candid interview on Fox News with Laura Ingraham, Woods recounted the harrowing experience of evacuating his home and criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) for their roles in the crisis.
“I had smoke alarms going off in my house and a fire truck parked in front of my house, but they couldn’t pump any water. There was none because they didn’t put them in the reservoirs,” Woods said, according to The Washington Examiner.
He pointed to poor fire management practices and alleged that leadership failures had exacerbated the destruction.
Woods questioned Newsom’s competence, saying, “If it is true that Gavin Newsom is the absolute blithering idiot that I believe he is… this isn’t a wake-up call. This is the kind of thing that they have tribunals for where they try people.”
Woods criticized what he described as the politicization of California’s fire management. He claimed the fires were not a “social justice exercise” but a matter of survival for residents as neighborhoods burned.
On social media, Woods responded to criticism by labeling Newsom and Bass as “liberal idiots.” He accused them of failing to understand “the first thing about fire management” and for being unable to fill water reservoirs, a key resource for fire suppression.
Woods also alleged that Newsom refused to approve water restoration measures, citing the protection of the Delta smelt fish as a higher priority than human lives.
“Gov. Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration… He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt… but didn’t care about the people of California,” Woods shared, echoing comments made by President-elect Donald Trump on Truth Social.
Woods also criticized Bass for traveling overseas to Ghana while Los Angeles residents battled fires. He accused her of previously cutting fire department funding, which, he argued, could have helped save lives and homes during the crisis.
During his interview with Ingraham, Woods shared an emotional account of evacuating his home as fires rapidly engulfed his neighborhood. He described rescuing an elderly neighbor with dementia just an hour before their house was destroyed.
“It’s astonishing that what happened during this experience was that we found out that none of us was a celebrity. None of us is a poor person or rich person, a Democrat or a Republican. We were just neighbors really helping each other,” Woods said tearfully.
Woods emphasized the importance of community during the crisis. “There is no possession as priceless as friends and good neighbors during a tragedy. I can’t believe the blessings we enjoy, and I am humbly grateful,” he wrote on social media.
The actor posted a video taken from his home in the Palisades before the fires, showcasing the beauty of the area before its devastation. “I took this last night from our beautiful little home… Now all the fire alarms are going off at once remotely. It tests your soul, losing everything at once,” he wrote.
The wildfires that consumed parts of Los Angeles displaced over 100,000 residents and destroyed homes, schools, businesses, and historic landmarks. Woods urged residents to heed evacuation orders, cautioning against trying to fight the fires themselves.
“The most important task ahead is not to be bitter, but…” Woods said, reflecting on the need for resilience in the face of tragedy.
