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California’s wildfires could be the costliest disaster in American history, the state’s governor said, as forecasts of strong winds raised fears the wildfires will spread. even more.
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Gavin Newsom said the fires, which have burned at least 22,000 acres, will be the worst the country has seen “in terms of the costs associated with it, (and ) scale and breadth”.
He added that there could be “many killings” confirmed. The death toll as of Saturday evening stood at 16, according to Los Angeles officials.
The prospect of Sunday’s winds in the Santa Ana fire has left tens of thousands of residents under evacuation orders. By late Saturday the fires were threatening homes in Mandeville Canyon and the Brentwood neighborhood, although officials said they had made progress to prevent further development there.
The National Weather Service has forecast gusts between 50 and 70mph.
Newsom, a Democrat, responded to an onslaught of attacks from President-elect Donald Trump, who accused the governor of destroying water resources to protect endangered species, and refusing to sign a “watershed restoration proclamation.” “which would have “allowed millions of gallons of water to flow every day in many parts of California,” said Newsom’s office.
Trump, who has a long-standing feud with Newsom and called him “Newscum”, also called on the Californian to resign, accusing him of “gross ignorance”.
“The reservoirs are completely full, the state reservoirs here in Southern California,” Newsom said.
He added: “That misinformation and misinformation I don’t think is beneficial or helpful to any of us. “In response to Donald Trump’s insults, we would spend a month one more. I know them very well. Every elected official they disagree with is very familiar with them.”
Newsom also said he had invited the president-elect to visit the affected areas, but had yet to hear back from Trump’s transition team.
The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Sunday raised the prospect of US troops being sent to Los Angeles to help control the fire.
“There are active soldiers who are preparing to run the command, who are willing to go in and continue to support the firefighting effort,” Deanne Criswell told ABC’s This Week program. Speaking on CNN, he warned that strong winds expected in the coming days could spread the fire even further.
No official estimate of the cost of the damage has been released, but AccuWeather analysts last week calculated economic losses of between $135bn and $150bn – short of the $250bn cost associated with last year’s Hurricane Helene. the past.
President Biden on Thursday promised that the American government will pay “100 percent of all costs” caused by the disaster, and will ask Congress for additional financial assistance.
Trump, who on the campaign trail last year threatened to deny disaster funding to California, has so far been silent on whether he would provide similar aid. On Sunday, he renewed his attacks on government officials.
“Incompetent people don’t know how to put out (fires),” he wrote. “There is death everywhere. This is one of the worst disasters in the history of the country.” us. They can’t just put out fires. What’s wrong with them?”
