U.S. President Donald Trump toured parts of California damaged by wildfire as firefighters in the Los Angeles area continued to confront multiple blazes amid high winds and dry conditions.
Trump surveyed recovery efforts from a helicopter on Friday, including flying over the Pacific Palisades neighborhood where a fire left rows of homes in ashes.
The Palisades Fire is about 77% contained and has burned through nearly 9,500 hectares of land, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Trump has criticized California leaders for water policies that he says have exacerbated the recent wildfires. He said before traveling to California that he would “take a look at a fire that could have been put out if they let the water flow, but they didn’t let the water flow.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom has rejected the president’s assertion, and other state legislators have blamed the fierce wildfires for placing extreme demand on a municipal system not designed to battle such blazes.
Newsom greeted Trump as he arrived on the tarmac in Los Angeles on Friday. The two were cordial and shook hands.
“I have all the expectations we’re going to be able to work together,” Newsom said.
Trump responded: “We’re going to get it fixed.”
Trump calls FEMA ‘big disappointment’
Before visiting California, Trump first visited North Carolina, where he was briefed on monthslong recovery efforts for the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
Speaking to reporters at Asheville Regional Airport, Trump said FEMA “has been a very big disappointment” and said he is considering “getting rid” of the agency.
FEMA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency that has been responding to disasters in both California and North Carolina.
“It’s very bureaucratic. And it’s very slow. Other than that, we’re very happy with them,” Trump said of the agency.
Trump, a Republican, has broached using federal disaster assistance as a bargaining chip during unrelated legislative negotiations over government borrowing, or as leverage to push California to alter its water policies.
“Playing politics with people’s livelihoods is unacceptable and a slap in the face to the Southern California wildfire victims and to our brave first responders,” Representative Young Kim, a Republican from Orange County, south of Los Angeles, said in a recent statement.
Trump has also suggested putting more responsibility on individual states to respond to disasters.
“I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems,” he said in a Wednesday interview with Fox News. “FEMA is getting in the way of everything.”
Michael A. Coen, Jr., who served as chief of staff at FEMA during the Biden administration, said Trump has been “misinformed” about the agency, and he took exception with what he characterized as Trump’s inclination to play politics with disaster relief.
50,000 told to evacuate
Ahead of Trump’s visit to southern California, firefighters continued to fight multiple fires in the Los Angeles region.
The second-largest fire, known as the Eaton Fire, is now 95% contained after burning through more than 5,600 hectares of land, according to Cal Fire.
The Hughes Fire in the mountains northwest of Los Angeles near Castaic Lake started Wednesday, prompting evacuation orders for more than 50,000 people. Health advisories for smoke and windblown dust and ash have been issued for surrounding areas.
“Smoke and ash can harm everyone, even those who are healthy,” Dr. Muntu Davis, Los Angeles County’s health officer, said in a statement.
Firefighters received help fighting the Hughes Fire overnight with aerial water drops from helicopters. The fire is now 56% contained and has burned more than 4,200 hectares of land, according to Cal Fire.
The Laguna Fire in Ventura County initially prompted evacuation orders for California State University Channel Islands and University Glen, but the orders were downgraded to warnings Thursday afternoon.
That fire is 70% contained after charring nearly 40 hectares of land, according to Cal Fire.
The U.S. Storm Prediction Center said high winds, low humidity and dry conditions continued to cause “elevated” fire weather conditions on Friday.
Saturday forecast includes rain
There is a chance for some relief in the coming days. The National Weather Service said rain is expected in the area beginning Saturday.
Forecasters expect up to a centimeter of rain across much of the Los Angeles area, while localized thunderstorms could bring even more rain in limited locations. The potential for those storms has prompted concerns about the possibility of mudslides, with debris flowing down hilly areas that have been scorched by several weeks of wildfires.
The fires that broke out in Southern California on January 7 have killed at least 28 people and destroyed an estimated 16,000 buildings. The death toll is expected to climb as emergency workers comb through the ashes.
Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
