'BS Alert': California hits back over 'preposterous' Trump military claim

California hit back against Donald Trump's claims that the military "turned on the water" to fight ongoing wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

The president signed an executive order seeking to get around federal and state laws covering the state's water system to provide enough resources to fight the wildfires, which have been mostly contained after killing at least 29 people and destroying more than 15,000 homes. Trump claimed late Monday that troops had already taken action.

"The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond," Trump posted on Truth Social. "The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument, over the PEOPLE, are OVER. Enjoy the water, California!!!"

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) publicly disputed the president's sensational claims in a post on X.

"The military did not enter California," the agency posted on its verified account. "The federal government restarted federal water pumps after they were offline for maintenance for three days. State water supplies in Southern California remain plentiful."

State Senate pro tem Mike McGuire, a Northern California Democrat, also disputed Trump's post and corroborated the agency's update on the water pump maintenance.

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"BS Alert: First off, shocker, water from the Pacific Northwest doesn’t flow to the Central Valley," McGuire said on X. "Second, federal water pumps were down for repair and are now back on. Third, rest assured, the military has not invaded the delta. Facts are hard."

Officials from various state agencies, as well as academics and experts, also issued statements Monday evening that disputed claims by Trump and other Republicans who say that policies on the environment and other areas had hindered efforts to fight the fires, saying that reservoirs in the Los Angeles area had enough water in storage to battle the fires and meet other needs.

“Water supply has not hindered firefighting efforts," said the Association of California Water Agencies. "Reservoirs in California are at or above average storage levels for this time of year, thanks in part to years of proactive water management.”

Several experts specifically addressed Trump's repeated claim that a "valve" could be turned on to direct water southward from Northern California, and he complains that Gov. Gavin Newsom and environmentalists are preventing that from happening.

"It’s difficult to explain what he’s talking about because nobody knows what he’s talking about.," said John Buse, general counsel for the Center for Biological Diversity. "The idea of a valve and water will just flow is preposterous.”