President Donald Trump is asserting more federal government control over water management decisions in California and ordering US officials to override local authorities, casting the steps as necessary to boost the state’s firefighting capabilities.

Trump has falsely claimed that Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and other officials refused to provide water from the northern part of the state to fight the fires.

The California Department of Water Resources pushed back on President Trump's claim that he was able to turn the water back on in Los Angeles.