The California wildfires could be the costliest disaster in US history, the state’s governor said, as forecasts of heavy winds raised fears that the catastrophic blazes would spread further,
Financial Times reports.
In remarks to NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Gavin Newsom said the fires — which have burnt through more than 40,000 acres, according to CalFire, the state’s forestry and fire protection department — would be the worst the country has seen “in terms of just the costs associated with it, [and] in terms of the scale and scope”.
He added that there were likely to be “a lot more” fatalities confirmed. The death toll rose to 24 on Sunday evening, according to Los Angeles authorities.
The prospect of a pick-up on Sunday in the Santa Ana winds that have fanned the flames has left tens of thousands of residents under evacuation orders. The fires were threatening homes in upscale Mandeville Canyon and the Brentwood neighbourhood, although officials said they had made progress in stemming the advance there.
The National Weather Service has forecast gusts of between 50mph and 70mph, while drought conditions remain.
“We know that elevated critical fire conditions will continue through Wednesday,” Los Angeles County fire chief Anthony Maroney said on Sunday.
LA is experiencing its second-driest start to its rainy season in more than a century, according to the non-profit CalMatters news service. Halfway into the season, LA has only recorded about 0.2 inches of rain since October — well below the 4.5 inches that is common by January.
Newsom, a Democrat, responded to a barrage of attacks from Donald Trump. The incoming Republican president has accused the governor of depleting water reserves to protect an endangered species of fish, and of refusing to sign a “water restoration declaration” that would have “allowed millions of gallons of water . . . to flow daily into many parts of California”. Newsom’s office has said no such declaration exists.
Trump, who has a long-standing feud with Newsom and refers to him as “Newscum”, 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.
