Stark reality
Saddened Trump repeats claim of state mishandling forest
San Mateo county deputy coroner Elizabeth Ortiz (left) working with forensic anthropologists to recover human remains from a trailer home destroyed by the Camp Fire in Paradise, California. See report on — Reuters
PARADISE: President Donald Trump expressed sadness at the devastation caused by fires in a California town, but persisted in his controversial claim that forest mismanagement is responsible for the tragedy which has left 76 dead and more than 1,000 listed as missing.
“This is very sad,” Trump said after surveying the remains of Paradise, where nearly the only people out on the road were emergency services workers, surrounded by the twisted remains of a community incinerated by the flames.
The deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California’s history, the so-called Camp Fire, has now claimed 76 lives after authorities on Saturday confirmed five more victims.
The blaze has devoured an area roughly the size of Chicago, destroying nearly 10,000 homes and more than 2,500 other buildings.
In Chico, near Paradise, Trump met with firefighters and other first responders at makeshift headquarters for emergency services.
Keeping alive an earlier controversy, Trump repeated his claim that California had mismanaged its forests and was largely to blame for the fires.
“I’m committed to make sure that we get all of this cleaned out and protected, (we’ve) got to take care of the forest, it’s very important,” Trump said in Paradise.
Days ago Trump threatened to cut federal funding to California over its alleged “gross mismanagement” of forests.
Brian Rice, president of California Professional Firefighters, called Trump’s earlier remarks “ill-informed”, noting the federal government had cut spending on forest management.
Asked if he believed climate change had played any role in the fires, Trump again pointed to the forest “management factor” and insisted that his “strong opinion” remained unchanged.
Trump has long been sceptical of man’s role in global warming despite mounting scientific evidence that the burning of fossil fuels is heating the planet and leading to more extreme weather.
The inferno erupted on Nov 8, laying waste to Paradise in the northern foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains and sending thousands fleeing.
The Camp Fire and another huge blaze have created a serious smoke problem across vast areas of the country’s largest state, and when Trump stepped out of Air Force One at Beale Air Force Base north of capital city Sacramento, the sun struggled to cut through haze so dense it covered the base like a fog.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea had on Friday told reporters the number of people unaccounted soared from 631 to 1,011 in 24 hours as authorities received more reports of people missing, and after earlier emergency calls were reviewed.
He called it “a dynamic list”, while noting there could be duplicates and some people who had escaped could be unaware they were listed as missing.
More than 300 people who were listed as missing have now been found. — AFP