Inside the ‘disastrous decisions’ of Karen Bass and Gavin Newsom ahead of wildfire catastrophe

The "disastrous decisions" made by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom ahead of the region's catastrophic wildfires have come under scrutiny.

Sky News Australia looks at the key failures of California’s elected officials, which include decisions to cut funding from the LA Fire Department and to divert funding to “leftist” priorities.

When the wildfires exploded on January 7, 100 fire trucks sat idle waiting for repairs, the Santa Ynez Reservoir in Pacific Palisades was empty, and some firefighters ran out of water.

Filmmaker Ami Horowitz told Sky News Australia this is a story of “absolute incompetence”.

“It’s also a story of how priorities on the left have led to this devastation,” Mr Horowitz said.

The cost of California’s devastating wildfires is estimated to be more than $US200 billion.