WATCH: LA Mayor Completely Freezes When Asked About Wildfire Crisis

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass froze up and refused to answer any questions about the ongoing wildfire crisis that has burned more than 10,000 acres in Los Angeles County.

Bass returned to the city on Wednesday after she was out of the country for the first 24 hours of the disaster. While Bass provided updates on social media, the mayor was wrapping up a personal vacation in the African nation of Ghana. As the mayor was returning to the city, she was confronted about her fire response by Sky News reporter David Blevins, who pelted her with questions during a live broadcast.

“Do you owe citizens an apology for being absent while their homes were burning? Do you regret cutting the fire department budget by millions of dollars, Madam Mayor?” Blevins asked. A seemingly agitated Mayor Bass refused to answer, prompting the reporter to follow up with, “have you nothing to say?” 

“Have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today? Elon Musk says that you’re utterly incompetent. Are you considering your position? Madam Mayor, have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today who are dealing with this disaster? No apology for them? ” Blevins continued before asking about her trip to Ghana. Bass remained completely silence for about a minute before a group of aides directed her towards an airport terminal exit. The reporter followed, but was unable to get any answers out of the Los Angeles mayor.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has also faced intense criticism due to the state response to one of the worst wildfire outbreaks in decades. The governor has declared a state of emergency over the crisis, while President Biden pledged federal aid while meeting with California and Los Angeles leaders on Wednesday.

“He is the blame for this,” President elect Donald Trump said of the governor in a Truth Social post on Wednesday afternoon. “Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” he added.

The criticism comes as Southern California has been gripped by an unprecedented wildfire crisis due to the presence of strong Santa Ana winds, which has led to some of the strongest wind storms across the region in more than a decade. Amidst elevated fire hazard conditions, the crisis began on Tuesday morning when a brushfire erupted in the Pacific Palisades area. Due to the strong wind storms, the fire rapidly spread while moving in an erratic pattern thanks to strong winds. By Tuesday evening, more than 30,000 people were ordered to evacuate the Pacific Palisades area after the uncontrolled inferno burned more than 2,000 acres.

A few hours later, another brushfire sparked in the Eaton Canyon area near Pasadena and Altadena. The fire rapidly expanded in a matter of minutes, prompting evacuation orders for large parts of Pasadena, a city of 150,000. Additional evacuations were soon ordered in Santa Monica as a result of the Pacific Palisades fire, while thousands more were forced to leave Pasadena and Altadena due to the rapidly expanding Eaton Fire.

Another blaze, which was dubbed the Hurst Fire, later erupted in the area around Sylmar on Tuesday night. As of this report, more than 1,100 homes, businesses and other buildings have been torched while at least five people have been killed across Los Angeles County. The five deaths occurred around Altadena and Pasadena, where the Eaton Fire’s rapid explosion gave residents little time to evacuate.

In total, the firestorm has burned more than 25,000 acres. The Pacific Palisades fire has burned more than 15,000 acres as it continues to burn along Pacific Coast Highway towards Malibu. The Eaton Fire has burned more than 10,000 acres in Pasadena and Altadena, while the Hurst fire is approaching 1,000 acres, according to the most recent figures provided by state officials.