San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
More fire coverage.
After a long silence about the wildfires raging in the West, President Trump will meet with officials Monday in Sacramento for a briefing about blazes that have charred more than 3 million acres in California and blanketed the state in smoke.
The president is expected to be briefed by politicians and fire officials in McClellan Park, a former Air Force base that is now a hub for Cal Fire and U.S. Forest Service operations fighting the 29 major wildfires burning around the state.
The White House confirmed the visit Saturday.
The fires have already set an annual record with most of the fire season still ahead, and at least 22 people have died, including three more deaths in the North Complex Fire that officials announced Saturday evening.
Trump has said little about the fires. At a campaign rally in Pennsylvania last month, he blamed the state and environmentalists because of what he called a buildup of forest debris. On Saturday evening at a campaign rally in Minden, Nev., he reiterated that, saying the California fires are “all about forest management.”
Fires “are starting again in California. I said, you gotta clean your floors, you gotta clean your forests — there are many, many years of leaves and broken trees and they’re like, like, so flammable, you touch them and it goes up,” Trump said. “I’ve been telling them this now for three years, but they don’t want to listen.”
Trump has been critical of California’s forest management in the past, including during a 2018 visit to Paradise (Butte County) after the Camp Fire killed 85 people. He said then that the state needed to do a better job of “raking” its forest floors.
At his Pennsylvania rally last month, Trump suggested that the federal government shouldn’t be required to cover the cost of fighting the wildfires. “Maybe we’re just going to have to make them pay for it because they don’t listen to us,” he said.
Trump threatened to withhold federal money for wildfires in 2018 and again in 2019, but never followed through. Despite his new warning about blocking fire relief money, the president has signed disaster declarations for the state, prompting expressions of gratitude from Gov. Gavin Newsom. Last month, Newsom announced a statefederal agreement to reduce wildfire risks on 1 million acres of forest every year. Under the deal, governments will spend as much as $1 billion on fire preparedness in California by scaling up vegetation treatment over the next five years. The pact commits to a 20year program of forest and vegetation management, including wildland and watershed restoration. The White House expressed support for firefighting efforts in a statement announcing Trump’s visit to Sacramento.
“The president continues to support those who are battling raging wildfires in a locally executed, statemanaged and federally supported emergency response,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said.
Wildfires are also burning in Washington and Oregon, with hundreds of homes destroyed and tens of thousands fleeing the flames in those states.
The announcement of the presidential visit came as the late summer siege of smoke and fire continued Saturday, with the North Complex Fire in Plumas, Butte and Yuba counties and the Creek Fire in the central Sierra both burning with minimal containment, and smokefilled skies choking the Bay Area and much of the West Coast.
Cooler conditions helped firefighters battle the North Complex, which has scorched 252,300 acres over the past 14 days.
That blaze has leveled a handful of towns near Lake Oroville.
One of the communities destroyed is tiny Berry Creek. The area’s only grocery story —the Village Market — was reduced to black rubble. On Saturday, a smattering of canned food rested on what appeared to be a shelf. Two gas pumps were still standing. Across the road, downed trees and power lines littered Graystone Lane, where one of the 12 confirmed victims in the blaze, Millicent Catarancuic, lived and died.
While Cal Fire officials touted improved conditions Saturday at the North Complex fires, they also warned that fire conditions might get worse. The National Weather Service predicted a fire weather watch for Monday, with strong winds expected.
The Butte County Sheriff announced Saturday that an additional three victims had died, bringing the total to 12 with another 13 missing. Fire officials said Saturday evening that at least 132 homes and 36 commercial structures were destroyed.
As of Saturday, the fire was 21% contained.
Farther south, in Fresno and Madera counties, the Creek Fire continued to rage, mostly in wilderness near Shaver Lake in Fresno County.
The Creek Fire has ripped through 196,667 acres, according to Cal Fire officials, and is just 6% contained. Thick smoke over the area is aiding firefighters by reducing temperatures.
Meanwhile, firefighters continued to snuff out the three massive fires that have raged in and near the Bay Area since they were sparked by lightning strikes during an Aug. 16 thunderstorm. The LNU Lightning Complex in the North Bay tore through 363,220 acres and is 95% contained. The SCU Lightning Complex in the East Bay and San Joaquin Valley is 98% contained and has charred 396,624 acres, while the CZU Lightning Complex in the Santa Cruz Mountains is 86% contained after burning 86,509 acres.
The August Complex in Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity counties — the largest in state history— has burned through 846,812 acres and is 25% contained.
Smoke from the fires has lingered for weeks, driving air quality in the Bay Area to unhealthy levels. Meteorologists said moderate winds could develop Sunday afternoon and start to push some of the smoke east, with the air getting easier to breathe each day next week.