"We sent over $250 billion dollars to Ukraine" — Waka Flocka weighs in on "not enough water" to fight California wildfires

Rapper Waka Flocka Flame recently commented on the California wildfires that have continued to blaze since January 7, 2025. The Georgia-based rapper criticized the state's water shortage crisis amid the blazing wildfires, which made it difficult for firefighters to vanquish the flames that began in the affluent Pacific Palisades.

On January 8, 2025, Waka Flocka took to X to air his grievances about the government's inability to combat the California wildfires due to water shortage, writing:

"We sent over $250 billion dollars to Ukraine. But we can't get enough water to fight fires in California. I pray for everyone’s well being during this time of difficulty."

Waka Flocka likely misquoted the "$250 billion" mentioned in his tweet, seemingly referencing the $250 million Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) package the US sent to Ukraine in September 2024. The Council on Foreign Relations reported the US has sent over $175 billion worth of assistance to Ukraine since its conflict with Russia in 2022.

Meanwhile, the California wildfires that ravaged LA left fire hydrants running dry even as thousands of buildings continued burning. According to AP News, Janisse Quiñones, who headed LA's Department of Water and Power, said the demand for water was four times greater than "we've ever seen in the system."

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California wildfires empty out LA's water supply

According to AP News, all three one million-gallon tanks that fed Pacific Palisades' fire hydrants went completely dry just hours after the California wildfires began on January 7. This sparked widespread criticism about LA's water management system, with many citing corruption and mismanagement of resources as the reason for the water shortage.

However, Janisse Quiñones claimed all three tanks were filled before the California wildfires began. Quiñones added that the "tremendous demand" was more than they could keep up with during a press conference on January 8, as reported by People Magazine.

“We had a tremendous demand on our system in the Palisades. We pushed the system to the extreme. Four times the normal demand was seen for 15 hours straight, which lowered our water pressure. If there’s a message you take away from me today, is, I need our customers to really conserve water — not just in the Palisades area, but the whole system because the fire department needs the water to fight the fires," Quiñones stated.

According to The New York Post, the first one million-gallon tank that supplied the fire hydrants at Pacific Palisades went dry at around 5 pm on January 7. The last tank was drained by 3 am on January 8. There are reportedly 114 tanks all over LA that store water.

An aerial view of the California wildfires (Image via Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Palisades fire razed over 1000 structures and spread over nearly 20000 acres. An estimated 180,000 people have been ordered to evacuate LA as the death toll rises to 10 at the time of this article.

According to NBC News, only 6% of the Palisades fire has been contained at the time of this article. Several celebrities, including Viggo Mortensen, Paris Hilton, and Eugene Levy, have reported losing their homes in the California wildfires.

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In other news, Waka Flocka's post about the California wildfires came after the rapper recently claimed he was attacked by 10 men, only to later reveal it had been a ruse to prove a point about misinformation.

On New Year's Day, the rapper took to Threads to post a picture of himself looking injured, claiming he was jumped by 10 men. The following day, he berated people for easily believing his story without fact-checking, calling out media houses for running articles about the topic without reaching out and confirming with him or his team.

He cautioned people to always research and confirm facts before they believed anything they saw on the internet.