Calif. gov fire plea
Asks prez for aid
Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown called Saturday on President Trump to send federal aid to fight the wildfires that have already torched more than 1,000 homes in the Golden State.
Despite bickering with the president over immigration and pollution policies, Brown has faith in the feds.
“The president has been pretty good on helping us in disasters, so I’m hopeful,” Brown said, referring to the aid Trump provided when wildfires burned California wine county in 2017. “Tragedies bring people together.”
Seventeen fires ripped through California Saturday and had already destroyed more than 450,000 acres as crews dealt with fire-fueling weather conditions north of San Francisco.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for critical weather conditions in the Mendocino area through Saturday night, as it expected dry low-pressure systems to bring wind gusts up to 35 miles per hour.
“This is a particularly dangerous situation,” the weather service said. “New fires will grow rapidly out of control, in some cases people may not be able to evacuate safely in time should a fire approach.”
The largest fires in Mendocino and Lake counties have grown to almost 250 square miles and were threatening about 9,000 homes Saturday.
Yosemite National Park was expected to remain closed through Sunday.