Trump to visit as more than 1,000 missing in California fire
Published Nov 17, 2018 08:57 pm
By Agence France-Presse
President Donald Trump was to arrive Saturday in California where more than 1,000 people are listed missing in the worst-ever wildfire to hit the wealthiest US state, which is at the forefront of resistance to Trump's environmental and other policies.
Volunteers set up camp for California wildfire evacuees outside a supermarket in Chico, near the devastated community of Paradise (AFP / MANILA BULLETIN)
The deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California's history, the so-called Camp Fire, has now claimed 71 lives after authorities found eight additional sets of human remains.
The fire has devoured an area roughly the size of Chicago.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told reporters the number of people unaccounted for almost doubled from 631 to 1,011 in 24 hours as authorities received more reports of people missing, and as emergency calls made when the fire broke out are reviewed.
"I want you to understand that this is a dynamic list," he told reporters. He said that on a positive note, 329 people who had been listed as missing since the fire broke out had so far been accounted for.
"The information I am providing you is raw data and we find there is the likely possibility that the list contains duplicate names," he said, adding that some people who had escaped could be unaware they were listed as missing.
Paradise lost
The inferno erupted November 8, laying waste to the town of Paradise at the northern foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains and sending thousands fleeing.
Trump would "meet with individuals impacted by the wildfires," a White House spokeswoman said, but in an interview with Fox News ahead of his trip, the president said he was going "just to see the firefighters."
In the interview he also reiterated an earlier claim that mismanagement of California's forests was to blame for the fires, though he acknowledged climate change may have contributed "a little bit."
"You need forest management. It has to be," Trump told Fox.
Roslyn Roberts, 73, forced from her home in Paradise, said she voted for Trump but would disagree with him if she has the chance on Saturday.
"I would tell him that this fire has nothing to do with forest mismanagement. Thousands and thousands of homes got destroyed with no trees around," she said amongst other evacuees at a shelter set up by the American Red Cross in a church.
In the community of Chico, just west of Paradise, volunteers had erected a tented encampment for others forced from their homes.
"Just trying to make it day by day. It's all we can do. Just take the resources that they're giving us and then try to make it the best," Dustin Kimball, who worked at the Paradise cemetery, said in front of a tent.
Democratic Governor Jerry Brown's administration and President Donald Trump's Republicans have repeatedly clashed over issues including environmental and immigration regulations, as well as "net neutrality" governing access to the internet.
Days ago Trump threatened to cut federal funding to California over its alleged "gross mismanagement" of forests but late Friday he tweeted that he was looking forward to meeting Brown and his newly-elected successor Gavin Newsom.
"We are with you!" Trump said.
The Camp Fire has burned 146,000 acres (59,000 hectares) and was 50 percent contained by Friday, California's fire service said.
Authorities said 47,200 people had been evacuated because of the fire and nearly 1,200 were living in shelters.
Volunteers set up camp for California wildfire evacuees outside a supermarket in Chico, near the devastated community of Paradise (AFP / MANILA BULLETIN)
The deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California's history, the so-called Camp Fire, has now claimed 71 lives after authorities found eight additional sets of human remains.
The fire has devoured an area roughly the size of Chicago.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told reporters the number of people unaccounted for almost doubled from 631 to 1,011 in 24 hours as authorities received more reports of people missing, and as emergency calls made when the fire broke out are reviewed.
"I want you to understand that this is a dynamic list," he told reporters. He said that on a positive note, 329 people who had been listed as missing since the fire broke out had so far been accounted for.
"The information I am providing you is raw data and we find there is the likely possibility that the list contains duplicate names," he said, adding that some people who had escaped could be unaware they were listed as missing.
Paradise lost
The inferno erupted November 8, laying waste to the town of Paradise at the northern foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains and sending thousands fleeing.
Trump would "meet with individuals impacted by the wildfires," a White House spokeswoman said, but in an interview with Fox News ahead of his trip, the president said he was going "just to see the firefighters."
In the interview he also reiterated an earlier claim that mismanagement of California's forests was to blame for the fires, though he acknowledged climate change may have contributed "a little bit."
"You need forest management. It has to be," Trump told Fox.
Roslyn Roberts, 73, forced from her home in Paradise, said she voted for Trump but would disagree with him if she has the chance on Saturday.
"I would tell him that this fire has nothing to do with forest mismanagement. Thousands and thousands of homes got destroyed with no trees around," she said amongst other evacuees at a shelter set up by the American Red Cross in a church.
In the community of Chico, just west of Paradise, volunteers had erected a tented encampment for others forced from their homes.
"Just trying to make it day by day. It's all we can do. Just take the resources that they're giving us and then try to make it the best," Dustin Kimball, who worked at the Paradise cemetery, said in front of a tent.
Democratic Governor Jerry Brown's administration and President Donald Trump's Republicans have repeatedly clashed over issues including environmental and immigration regulations, as well as "net neutrality" governing access to the internet.
Days ago Trump threatened to cut federal funding to California over its alleged "gross mismanagement" of forests but late Friday he tweeted that he was looking forward to meeting Brown and his newly-elected successor Gavin Newsom.
"We are with you!" Trump said.
The Camp Fire has burned 146,000 acres (59,000 hectares) and was 50 percent contained by Friday, California's fire service said.
Authorities said 47,200 people had been evacuated because of the fire and nearly 1,200 were living in shelters.