Democrat Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called for unity Thursday amid growing criticism of her administration's response to the massive wildfires ravaging the city.

According to Mediaite, Bass delivered prepared remarks at a morning press event, blaming the fires, which have killed at least five people, on "a perfect storm" of "historic winds and extensive drought."

"One voice," Bass said. "That is the way we speak. And that is the way we stand here. United Los Angeles will stand united and stand strong."

Saying her thoughts were "with the thousands of Angelenos who are impacted by this emergency," Bass added her priorities are "to keep Angelenos safe and to protect homes."

The mayor then gave an update on fire containment efforts and told residents they should "continue to proceed with caution."

"Air operations are continuing rapidly in the Palisades, in Sylmar and across our region," she said. "We continue to see our heroes from our LA firefighters and from personnel families, neighbors from across the county and the state. We thank you. However, we continue to confront a big one-level firestorm.

"Historic winds and extensive drought have created a perfect storm that has driven people from their homes and have taken people's homes and that has taken people's lives. I've been in the fire zones, and you can see how fast and devastating these wind-driven fires are."

Bass has been strongly criticized for being out of the country to attend an inauguration in Ghana when the fires started, as well as for reportedly telling residents to visit "URL" instead of the actual web address for a fire emergency information site.

In a Thursday morning Truth Social post, President-elect Donald Trump accused Bass and Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom of "gross incompetence," adding that President Joe Biden's "FEMA has no money — all wasted on the Green New Scam! L.A. is a total wipeout!!!"

Hollywood celebrities such as Sarah Michelle Geller, James Woods and Sara Foster have also taken to social media to criticize Bass' response to the crisis, with Foster telling Bass and Newsom to resign because their "far-left policies have ruined our state. And also our party."

Bass ended her address with a call for unity among Los Angeles residents amid the widespread devastation.

"We need to continue to cooperate," she said. "We need to evacuate. When asked to do so, we need to help others, help our neighbors. And first and foremost, we need to stay united. We need to stay strong. A united LA is the way we will recover, is the way we rebuild our communities."

• LA Officials: Fire Zone Looters Will Be Arrested, Punished
• Fire Official to Newsmax: 'Historic' Winds Driving Wildfires