California winds diminish
CAMARILLO, Calif. — Winds that fanned a deadly, destructive Southern California firestorm were fading Thursday and more areas were reopening to residents as firefighters extended containment lines around the vast burn scar.
“It’s the new abnormal: fires, dryness, lack of moisture, winds,” Gov. Jerry Brown said during a visit to a command post in Camarillo, where he also spoke about the transition from firefight to recovery.
“That recovery will happen,” he said. “The state will help. The federal government is helping. President Trump told me on the telephone yesterday that he’s completely behind California.”
Brown was joined on the visit by U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
In addition, the White House announced that President Donald Trump will travel to California on Saturday and meet with fire survivors in Paradise, where at least 56 people were killed in a separate wildfire — the nation’s deadliest in a century.
Initially, as fires raged, Trump threatened to withhold federal payments from California, claiming its forest management was poor. He later said he had approved an expedited major disaster declaration and wanted to alleviate “incredible suffering.” He also praised firefighters.
Zinke said there was a threat of debris flows if rain hits the burn areas, and he promised to work with state and local officials to mitigate potential problems.
The count of destroyed structures in Los Angeles and Ventura counties topped 500 as damage assessments continued.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives were investigating three deaths. Two adults were found in a gutted car last week, and the remains of a person were found Wednesday in the rubble of a home that had burned to the ground.