Governor Gavin Newsom under fire for ‘personal trip’ to Mexico amid California blizzards

As much as 10 feet of snow has fallen in some parts and residents told The Independent that they were struggling to dig out and get access to basic necessities after two weeks

California Governor Gavin Newsom reportedly took a “personal trip” to Mexico in the wake of the state’s devastating blizzards.

Gov Newsom travelled to Baja California, Mexico, between 2 March and 5 March, according to a statement provided by his office to Fox News.

Record amounts of snow have fallen in parts of southern California’s mountain ranges since extremely rare blizzard warnings were issued in late February.

In the San Bernardino Mountains and San Gabriel Mountains, east of Los Angeles, there have been mammoth amounts of snowfall in high-elevation communities.

As much as 10 feet of snow has fallen in some parts and residents told The Independent that they were struggling to dig out and get access to basic necessities after two weeks.

A number of homes have collapsed under the weight of snow, and many residents have gone days without power and faced gas leaks and storm-related fires.

“I think the response took way too long and unfortunately, there’s probably some casualties that we’re going to find. I think that it could have been avoided or handled better,” Cierra Lavarias, a resident in the mountain community of Crestline, told The Independent.

Gov Newsom declared emergencies in 13 California counties on 1 March.

A person walks near a snow berm on 6th March after a series of winter storms dropped more than 100 inches of snow in the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California (Getty Images)

The governor was pictured on a visit to the Diablo Canyon Power Plant on 2 March at Avila Beach in California. The Democratic leader was next pictured during a meeting in Sacramento with emergency response officials on 5 March where he received an update on the winter storms and the state’s disaster response and relief efforts

The Independent has contacted the governor’s office for comment on his trip to Mexico.

Critics have slammed the trip on social media with some commentators drawing comparisons with Republican Senator Ted Cruz’s vacation to Mexico in February 2021. Millions of people in Senator Cruz’s home state of Texas were left without power after the grid collapsed during devastating winter storm Uri while he visited Cancun. At least 210 people died due to the conditions.

“Californians are trapped in their homes without power. More storms are on the way. And Governor Newsom has just left the state for ‘personal travel’” tweeted California Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley last week.