SpaceX will provide free Starlink terminals to the areas in Los Angeles that have been affected by wildfires, Elon Musk, the space technology company’s CEO said on Thursday.
“SpaceX will provide free Starlink terminals to affected areas in LA tomorrow morning,” Musk said on X.
Multiple wildfires have broken out in and around Los Angeles, in California, since Tuesday, killing at least five people and prompting tens of thousands to evacuate.
US President-elect Donald Trump accused California Governor Gavin Newsom of exacerbating the disaster by refusing to sign the water restoration declaration.
“Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!” Trump said on Truth Social.
Musk agreed that it was time to “vote Gavin Newsom out of office” over his mismanagement of the state and its water supply. “Absolutely,” Musk was replying to a post on X, which accused Newsom of “failing California on numerous levels.”
The Palisades fire in Los Angeles was first reported Tuesday and has spread to over 15,000 acres, forestry and fire protection officials said. The Eaton fire started Tuesday night, also prompting evacuation orders. The AccuWeather media company said its preliminary estimate of the damage and economic loss from the wildfires in California stood at between $52 billion and $57 billion.
