Abrar Hussain of DOT : US President Donald Trump visited the fire-gutted state of California yesterday to survey firsthand the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state’s history.
The Camp Fire, which devastated northern California, has already killed at least 76 people while over 1,200 more have been reported missing, though officials claim the figure could fluctuate.
While visiting the destroyed town of Paradise, Trump described the scene as “sad” and reiterated his disputed claim that poor forest management was to blame.
“We do have to do management maintenance and we’ll be working also with environmental groups. I think everyone’s seen the light,” he said, adding, “I don’t think we’ll have this again to this extent.”
Experts have pointed to the weather, climate change and population shifts as bigger causes of the wildfires. Other than the Camp Fire, firefighters are reportedly also tackling several other blazes, including the Woolsey Fire near Los Angeles which has claimed at least three lives.
Adding to the misery, scores of people have become sick after outbreaks of the norovirus at shelters, and the air quality in northern California has been rated the world’s worst.
Heavy rain is forecast next week that could douse the flames but also bring mudslides and floods on hillsides stripped of vegetation.
-Source: BBC