California Gov. Gavin Newsom invited President-elect Trump to visit the Golden State to witness the destruction wildfires have wrought, meet with victims and thank first responders.

The governor’s message to Trump Friday came as fires continued ravaging parts of California.

Newsom urged against politicizing “human tragedy” and disseminating “disinformation.”

NEWSOM CALLS TRUMP’S CLAIMS ‘PURE FICTION’ AFTER PRESIDENT-ELECT POINTS FINGER OVER CALIFORNIA FIRE TRAGEDY

“In the spirit of this great country, we must not politicize human tragedy or spread disinformation from the sidelines. Hundreds of thousands of Americans — displaced from their homes and fearful for the future — deserve to see all of us working in their best interests to ensure a fast recovery and rebuild,” Newsom wrote.

“With respect and an open hand.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office to request comment Saturday, but no comment was provided. Trump’s camp did not respond to a comment request.

NEWSOM RESPONDS TO THOSE ANGRY OVER WILDFIRE RESPONSE BY POINTING FINGER AT LOCAL LEADERS, TRUMP

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Trump has been excoriating Newsom, even asserting that he should step down as governor.

“One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground. It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!” the president-elect declared in a Truth Social post this week.

TRUMP ACCUSES NEWSOM OF PRIORITIZING ENDANGERED FISH SPECIES OVER PROTECTING RESIDENTS FROM WILDFIRES

Former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, holds a campaign rally at the PPG Paints Arena Nov. 4, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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In another post, Trump accused “Gavin Newscum” and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of “Gross incompetence.”

The Eaton Fire – one of a multitude of wildfires incinerating the Los Angeles area – is still burning with little containment on Saturday as the Santa Ana wind event fueling the blazes is set to continue into next week. 

As of 6:30 a.m. Saturday, the Eaton Fire had scorched 14,117 acres and was 15% contained, which is up from the 3% containment reported on Friday night.  

According to preliminary estimates from CalFire, over 7,000 structures have been destroyed by the blaze, which had claimed at least six lives, including one man who died while defending a home that had been in his family for 55 years, as of Friday night.

At a Saturday morning press conference, officials stated that a further two people died in the Eaton Fire, bringing the total deaths to eight.

L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna also confirmed that 19 arrests have been made in connection with the Eaton Fire; the arrests were made for looting, identity theft, narcotics possession and burglary.

The incredibly destructive wildfire has led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of area residents.

Fire crews were aided by a lull in the Santa Ana winds that have been fueling the fires over the past couple of days, but authorities and weather officials are now shifting their concerns to an increase in gusty winds throughout the region. 

“The fire is burning in an area with steep, complex terrain and critically dry fuels,” CalFire said in their latest Eaton Fire status update, issued at 6:24 a.m. Saturday. “Despite these difficulties, minimal fire growth was observed [on Friday], and priorities include maintaining current containment lines and ensuing perimeter control.” 

“Gusty northeast winds will return to high elevations Saturday night into Sunday with gusts up to 30 miles per hour and relative humidity decreasing back below 20 percent,” the status update also stated. “Another Santa Ana wind event is possible around next Tuesday.” 

The National Weather Service echoed those same sentiments, forecasting “moderate to locally strong” Santa Ana winds through at least Wednesday. 

Elevated to Critical Fire Weather conditions will continue through that time, according to NWS. 

“These winds combined with dry air and dry vegetation will keep the fire weather threat in the area,” weather officials said. “Moderate to locally strong Santa Ana winds will affect the typical Santa Ana wind corridors on Saturday to Sunday and again Monday through Wednesday.” 

The Eaton Fire started on Tuesday amid hurricane-force winds near Altadena Drive and Midwick Drive in the Altadena area.  

It continues to burn as the Palisades Fire — the most expensive in Los Angeles history — began moving towards the heavily populated San Fernando Valley on Saturday morning.

Several other blazes erupted across the Los Angeles region last week, including the Kenneth, Hurst, Sunset and Lidia fires.

Click here for the most up-to-date information on the Eaton Fire from CalFire, and stay with KTLA for continuing coverage of the devastating Los Angeles area wildfires.

Nearly 1,000 incarcerated men and women have joined the frontlines in a battle against record-breaking wildfires burning across southern California.

The number deployed – now 939 – are part of a long-running volunteer programme led by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).

Their numbers have steadily increased since Tuesday, the day the deadly fires began spreading uncontrollably through Los Angeles.

Over 10,000 structures have been destroyed and 37,000 acres burned, as thousands of emergency workers descend on the Los Angeles area to fight the flames.

At least 11 people have been killed in the wildfires, officials said.

The incarcerated firefighters have been drawn from among the 35 conservation fire camps run by the state, minimum-security facilities where inmates serve their time and receive training. Two of the camps are for incarcerated women.

The 900-plus incarcerated firefighters in use account for roughly half of the 1,870 prisoner-firefighters in the scheme.

In the field, they can be seen in prison-orange jumpsuits embedded alongside members of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).

The incarcerated firefighters have been working “around the clock cutting fire lines and removing fuel from behind structures to slow fire spread”, CDCR told the BBC in an emailed statement.

The programme, which dates back to 1946, has divided critics, who see it as exploitative, and supporters, who say it is rehabilitative.

The state pays inmates a daily wage between $5.80 and $10.24 (£4.75 and £8.38), and an additional $1 per day when assigned to active emergencies.

Those wages are a fraction of the salaries received by citizen firefighters in California, who can earn upwards of $100,000 annually.

“You’re getting pennies compared to the other folks that’s alongside of you. You’re just cheap labour,” Royal Ramey, a former incarcerated firefighter and co-founder of the non-profit Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program (FFRP), told the BBC.

“And if you do pass away while fighting fires, you don’t get any benefits from that,” he continued.

“You’re not gonna get no award. You’re not gonna be recognised as a wildland firefighter,” he said, adding that he would remember in the field that he had already signed his own death certificate.

Still, Mr Ramey said the low pay is more than a California prisoner would otherwise earn performing jobs in the state penitentiaries.

The conservation camps and their “park, picnic-type feel” also offer additional perks like better food, he said, compared to California’s notoriously dangerous and overcrowded prisons.

“It’s a better living situation, definitely,” he said.

Camp participants can also earn time credits that help reduce their prison sentences, CDRC said.

Inmates convicted of crimes categorised as “serious” or “violent” felonies are not eligible to participate.

After incarcerated firefighters are released from prison – having been trained by the state – many try to get hired as citizen firefighters, but are denied, Mr Ramey said.

“There’s a stigma to it. When people think of firefighters they think of some clean-cut guy, a hero, not someone who’s been locked up,” he said.

He launched his nonprofit to help formerly incarcerated firefighters overcome the barriers and help fill the firefighter shortage California has faced for years.

There are currently five wildfires burning through billions of dollars worth of structures in the Los Angeles area, predicted to be one of the most expensive in history.

Strained for resources, the state has called on over 7,500 emergency personnel and first responders, including the state and National Guard and firefighters from as far away as Canada.

The fires have still been difficult to contain and continue to spread, with 35,000 acres from the two largest fires, Palisades and Eaton, already burned.

Additional reporting by Claire Betzer