Chris Christie tears into Gov. Newsom over ‘colossal failure’ of wildfire response: ‘Do your damn job!’

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie criticized California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other leaders for their lack of preparedness for the wildfires, calling the response a “colossal failure” as thousands of structures were destroyed and at least 24 people lost their lives across Los Angeles County.

Christie called out Newsom for refusing to take responsibility for the crisis during “The Brian Kilmeade Show,” accusing him and local leaders of mismanaging the state’s response to the historic wildfires.

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“It’s a huge setback, Brian, and a huge disappointment for the people of California, and now a tragedy for all those families that have been affected,” Christie told Kilmeade on Monday. “And when you’re the governor of a state and a natural disaster happens, no one is more responsible than you. There can be no one the public relies on more than you.”

“You can’t sit there and say, ‘Jesus…I don’t know. Let me find out.’ You have to be on top from the start,” he continued. “These fires started. We knew they were coming. We knew they were spreading.”

Both Fires in Eaton and Palisades they started on Tuesday last week and have so far burned almost 40,000 hectares together. The Eaton fire, centered around Pasadena, has caused 16 deaths, according to the Los Angeles County medical pathologist. The Palisades fire claimed eight more lives, and both fires were largely out of control as of Monday morning.

Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass have faced fierce criticism since the fires began last week for their handling of the disaster, with many claiming they were ill-prepared as entire communities were reduced to ashes.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Christie said. “The photo albums, the memories you lose, the videos of our children. These are things that cannot be replaced. So what [the] government needs to do is step up and be there to give them the money they need to replace the things that are replaceable, and Governor Newsom has failed, and Mayor Bass, frankly, looks like she doesn’t know what’s going on or.”

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Bass, who was abroad at the time of the fire, admitted on Thursday that up to 20% the city hydrants were drywhich prompted firefighters to avoid touching the hydrants.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) initially pumped aqueducts and groundwater into the system, but demand was so high that there was not enough to refill the three 1-million-gallon tanks in the hilly Pacific Palisades that help pressurize the hydrants .

Newsom demanded an independent investigation into the incident, calling it “deeply troubling.”

“Ongoing reports of loss of water pressure for some local fire hydrants during the fire and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir are of deep concern to me and the community,” he said. “Although water supplies from local fire hydrants are not designed to extinguish large-area wildfires, the loss of supplies from fire hydrants likely reduced efforts to protect some houses and evacuation corridors.”

Anyway, Newsom sparred with the newly elected President Donald Trump over allegations that he mismanaged the state’s water supply – all the while facing calls to resign.

“To attack Donald Trump politically is not the thing to do at this time,” Christie said. “As a responsible governor, regardless of how Gavin Newsom feels about Donald Trump, it doesn’t matter. The American people elected Donald Trump as president, and it’s your responsibility as governor to work with him in good faith, not to condemn him politically on him”.

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“So it’s a complete lack of accountability and credibility, and frankly, Governor Newsom should be ashamed of himself,” he continued.

Newsom, meanwhile, was questioned about his role in the crisis, his management of it and whether he supports Bass and her efforts to deal with the disaster, but he largely avoided answering any questions.

Christie argued that his avoidance was an indication of future political ambitions as many speculated that he would eventually run for president.

“This is a guy who all he wants to do is run for president of the United States, that’s all he cares about right now,” Christie said. “What he should be worried about is doing his damn job.”

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten of Fox News contributed to this report.