Trump visits California wildfire devastation
November 18, 2018
A week after the wildfires broke out in California, fires were still burning in the areas north and south of San Francisco and areas surrounding Los Angeles on Saturday.
Cal Fire officials said the Camp Fire in the north of the state was 55 percent contained as of Saturday, after it had burned through 148,000 acres (600 square kilometers).
The wildfire has killed at least 76 people in the area while destroying 9,700 houses and 144 apartment buildings. Some people are staying with friends and family, some have set up tents or are living in their vehicles, and others are being housed in 14 emergency shelters. About 47,000 people have been told they cannot yet return to their homes.
About 5,596 personnel are fighting the fire and searching for the dead.
Officials hope to have the Camp Fire contained within the next two weeks.
Some rain was expected in the Butte County area on Tuesday, which could help put out the fire, but there were fears there could be floods or landslides in areas where trees and other vegetation have been razed.
In southern California, fires around Los Angeles had consumed more than 100,000 acres, with at least four lives lost. The main wildfire in the south, Woolsey Fire, has been linked to four deaths and the destruction of at least 500 buildings near the Malibu coast west of Los Angeles.
Some 1,276 people are still missing in the state.
The president flies in
Trump had caused resentment last week when he wrote: "There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests."
He claimed Finland did not have California's wildfire problems because "they spent a lot of time on raking."
Trump visited the areas devastated by the exceptional fires and toxic air to grasp the scale of the desolation wrought on the landscape. He met with Governor Jerry Brown and Governor-elect Gavin Newsom: "We will be talking about forest management. I've been saying that for a long time. And it could have been a lot different situation," Trump said.
"The men and women that are fighting this fire are incredible." Trump said in Chico, California.
Asked if the fires had changed his opinion on climate change, Trump replied: "No. No. I have a strong opinion. I want a great climate and we're going to have that and we're going to have forests that are very safe."
Fires are spreading through multiple national forests, including the Sierra Nevada National Forest, Mendocino National Forest, Modoc National Forest, Lassen National Forest and Plumas National Forest.
No official cause has been determined for the wildfires. Electric utilities had reported equipment problems near where the Camp and Woolsey fires broke out.
jm/bw (AP, Reuters)