Trump blames officials as forest fire death toll rises in California
US President Donald Trump yesterday blamed “gross mismanagement of forests” for wildfires raging across California, which have destroyed an entire town and killed at least nine people.
“There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor,” the US president wrote on Twitter.
He threatened to withhold “billions of dollars” in federal funding unless the problem was addressed.
Officials raised the death toll from five to nine and ordered hundreds of thousands of people to leave areas threatened by the spreading fires yesterday, with one blaze approaching the city of Malibu, home to Hollywood stars.
The deaths were reported in a the town of Paradise in Butte County, north of the state capital Sacramento, where about 6,700 buildings went up in flames.
It was California’s most destructive fire on record.
The fast-moving blaze, which authorities have named the Camp Fire, broke out on Thursday morning. Fanned by strong winds, it scorched 36,400 hectares.
Other large fires raged in southern California, including one just north of Los Angeles and another in Ventura County near Thousand Oaks, where a Marine Corps veteran shot dead 12 people in a bar on Wednesday night.
Dozens of other people were reported missing.
Residents who escaped Paradise posted harrowing videos on social media as they drove through tunnels of swirling smoke and orange flames to outrun the wildfire.
The flames destroyed hundreds of homes, a hospital, a petrol station, several restaurants and many vehicles.
More than 52,000 people were ordered to leave the scenic area in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
In Malibu, footage taken from helicopters showed flames racing over hill ridges towards multimillion-dollar mansions. Malibu is one of the most in-demand locations in California for Hollywood stars and has been home to Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry, Charlize Theron, Brad Pitt and a host of others.
Kim Kardashian West, who lives just north of coastal Malibu, posted on Instagram that she was forced to flee her home.
Footage from helicopters showed flames racing over hill ridges towards multimillion-dollar mansions