The California fires could be the costliest disaster in U.S. history, the governor says
The California wildfires could be the costliest disaster in U.S. history, the state’s governor said, as forecasts of strong winds raised fears the catastrophic fires would spread further.
In remarks to NBC Meet the press On Sunday, Gavin Newsom said the fires – which have burned more than 40,000 acres, according to CalFire, the state’s forestry and fire protection agency – were the worst the country has ever seen “just in terms of the costs involved.” (and) in terms of scope and scope”.
He added that there would likely be “many more” confirmed deaths. According to Los Angeles authorities, the death toll stood at 16 on Saturday evening.
The prospect of a march Sunday in the Santa Ana winds that have fanned the flames has forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate. The fires threatened homes in the upscale Mandeville Canyon and Brentwood neighborhoods, although officials said they had made progress in containing the advance there.
The National Weather Service has forecast gusts between 50 and 70 miles per hour as drought conditions continue.
“We know that elevated critical fire conditions will continue through Wednesday,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Maroney said Sunday.
LA is experiencing its second driest start to the rainy season in more than a century, according to nonprofit news service Cal Matters. At the height of the season, LA has only recorded about 0.2 inches of rain since October — well below the 4.5 inches that is typical in January.
Newsom, a Democrat, responded to a barrage of attacks from Donald Trump. The new Republican president has accused the governor of depleting water reserves to protect an endangered fish species and refusing to sign a “water restoration declaration” that would have allowed “millions of gallons of water. . . flow daily into many parts of California.” Newsom’s office said there was no such explanation.
Trump, who has a long-standing feud with Newsom and has referred to him as “Newscum,” also called on the Californian to resign and accused him of “gross incompetence.”
“The reservoirs are completely full, the state reservoirs here in Southern California,” Newsom said.
“I do not believe this misinformation and disinformation will benefit or benefit any of us,” he added. “We would spend another month responding to Donald Trump’s insults. I know her very well. Any elected official he disagrees with is very familiar with them.”
Newsom also said he had invited the president-elect to visit the affected areas but had not yet heard back from the Trump transition team.
Firefighters have brought three fires under control since Tuesday, including the Sunset Fire that threatened the Hollywood hills. The Hurst Fire in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles was 80 percent contained as of Sunday afternoon.
But firefighters are still struggling to contain the two largest fires. Newsom said on the social media platform X that the Palisades and Eaton fires were 11 percent and 27 percent contained, respectively. Thousands of firefighters are deployed with heavy trucks and air support to fight the fire in Palisades, the mayor’s office said on Sunday. The city has also opened shelters for affected families.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) has staff in LA helping Angelenos apply for disaster assistance, while the federal Small Business Administration offers disaster loans for homes and businesses.
Newsom issued an executive order that he said would prevent those who lost their homes from being “tangled up in red tape” so they can quickly rebuild.
The head of Fema announced on Sunday that US troops would be sent to Los Angeles to help contain the fire.
“There are active-duty military members who are preparing to deploy and are ready to move in and continue to support the firefighting efforts,” Deanne Criswell told ABC This week Program. On CNN, she warned that strong winds expected in the coming days could spread the fire further.
No official estimate of the cost of the damage has been released, but analysts at AccuWeather last week calculated the economic damage at $135 billion to $150 billion – less than the $250 billion in associated costs Hurricane Helene last year. At least 12,300 structures were destroyed, according to CalFire.
President Joe Biden promised Thursday that the U.S. government would cover “100 percent of all costs caused by the disaster” and ask Congress for more financial support.
Trump, who threatened on the campaign trail last year to withhold disaster funding from California, has remained silent on whether he would provide similar aid. On Sunday he renewed his attacks on state officials.
“The incompetent police officers have no idea how to put out (the fires),” he wrote. “Death is everywhere. This is one of the worst disasters in our country’s history. They just can’t put out the fires. What’s wrong with them?”
