- Governor prepares burn areas for wet weather.
- Trump calls for increased Delta water deliveries.
- Experts foresee possible legal hurdles.
January 23, 2025 — Governor Gavin Newsom, according to yesterday’s press release, is sending specialized teams and equipment to protect areas in Los Angeles recently hit by firestorms. State agencies, including CAL FIRE, the Department of Conservation, and the Department of Water Resources (DWR), are mobilizing resources to reduce the risk of mudslides and flooding.
“Even before we saw rain on the horizon in Los Angeles, I directed my departments and agencies to act fast to protect neighborhoods from potentially hazardous debris flows,” Governor Newsom said in the press release
. “By stationing resources and staff in key locations, we can help make a difference as we transition from fire response to storm preparedness.”
More than 400 California Conservation Corps members are placing barriers to filter contaminants in runoff, while the California National Guard has deployed engineering units to move materials into debris basins. The Governor’s executive orders aim to hasten cleanup, stabilize hillsides, and safeguard residents in the path of dangerous post-fire conditions.
Trump Revives Delta Water Initiative.
On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a directive to ramp up water deliveries from Northern California to the Central Valley and Southern California. In his memorandum, he stated:
“I hereby direct the Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the heads of other departments and agencies of the United States as necessary, to immediately restart the work from my first Administration by the National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and other agencies to route more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to other parts of the state for use by the people there who desperately need a reliable water supply.”
Trump’s memorandum also criticized efforts to protect the Delta smelt, describing such measures as “radical environmentalism.” He argued that too much of California’s water flows “wastefully into the Pacific Ocean.”
Possible Legal Showdowns.
The Sacramento Bee reported on January 22, 2025, that the Trump order “to ‘route more water’ from the Delta to the Central Valley and Southern California and roll back protections for endangered native fish such as the Delta Smelt is likely to see legal push back.” According to experts cited by the Bee, endangered-species rules do place limits on water pumping, but those rules are not the primary factor behind water scarcity in the Los Angeles region.
State officials have not indicated any immediate legal responses. Still, environmental advocates suggest that renewed federal attempts to divert water from the Delta could lead to fresh court battles over species protections and California’s own water management priorities.
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Image:
Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta in California
, USA, looking northwest. The Sacramento River is above, the San Joaquin River below. The main island between is Sherman Island. At its upper tip on the left is Brannan Island with Brannan Island State Recreation Area occupying the small peninsula; at its upper tip on the right is Twitchell Island. Bradford Island is on the center right and Jersey Island in the right lower corner. The upper left is Solano County with the city of Rio Vista on the riverbank. By WorldIslandInfo.com, September 2004. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
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