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The wildfires in California could be the costliest disaster in US history, the state’s governor said, as forecasts of high winds raised fears that the catastrophic blazes will spread further.
In remarks to NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Gavin Newsom said the fires, which have burned at least 22,000 acres, would be the worst the country has seen “in terms of just the costs associated with them, [and] in terms of extent and scope”.
He added that there were likely to be “many more” confirmed deaths. The death toll Saturday night was 16, according to Los Angeles authorities.
The possibility of pick-up on Sunday as Santa Ana winds fueled the fires left tens of thousands of residents under evacuation orders. Late Saturday, the fires threatened homes in the upscale Mandeville Canyon and Brentwood neighborhoods, although officials said they were making progress in stopping their progress there.
The National Weather Service forecast wind gusts between 50 and 70 mph.
Newsom, a Democrat, was responding to a barrage of attacks from President-elect Donald Trump, who accused the governor of depleting water reserves to protect an endangered fish species and refusing to sign a “water restoration declaration” that would “allow millions of gallons of water … to flow every day.” to many parts of California.” Newsom’s office said no such statement exists.
Trump, who has a long-standing feud with Newsom and refers to him as “Newsom,” also called on the Californian to resign, accusing him of “gross incompetence.”
“The reservoirs are completely full, the state reservoirs here in Southern California,” Newsom said.
“I don’t think this wrong and misinformation brings benefits or helps any of us,” he added. “Responding to Donald Trump’s insults, we would spend another month. I am very familiar with them. Every elected official he disagrees with knew them well.”
Newsom also said he has invited the president-elect to visit the affected areas, but has yet to hear back from Trump’s transition team.
The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Sunday raised the possibility that US troops will be sent to Los Angeles to help control the fires.
“There are active duty military personnel preparing to deploy, ready to go and continue to support firefighting efforts,” Deanne Criswell told ABC’s This Week program. Speaking to CNN, she warned that strong winds expected in the coming days could further spread the fire.
No official cost estimate has yet been released, but AccuWeather analysts last week calculated the economic loss at between $135 billion and $150 billion — less than the $250 billion in costs associated with last year’s Hurricane Helena.
President Biden on Thursday pledged that the US government would pay “100 percent of all costs” caused by the disaster and that he would ask Congress for more financial assistance.
Trump, who on the campaign trail last year threatened to withhold disaster funding from California, has so far been tight-lipped about whether he would provide similar aid. On Sunday, he renewed his attacks on government officials.
“Incompetent citizens have no idea how to set it up [the fires] out,” he wrote. “Death is everywhere. This is one of the worst disasters in the history of our country. They just can’t put out fires. What’s wrong with them?”
