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California’s wildfires could be the costliest disaster in U.S. history, the state’s governor said, as forecasts of high winds raise fears of further spread of catastrophic fires.
In a speech Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, Gavin Newsom said the fires, which have burned more than 40,000 acres, according to CalFire, would be the worst the country has seen “in terms of the costs that are associated.” [and] in terms of scale and scope.
He added that there would likely be “many more” confirmed deaths. The death toll rose to 16 on Saturday evening, according to Los Angeles authorities.
The prospect of a Sunday pickup in the Santa Ana winds that fanned the fires left tens of thousands of residents under evacuation orders. Late Saturday, fires threatened homes in the upscale Mandeville Canyon and Brentwood neighborhoods, although officials said they had made progress in stemming the advance in those areas.
The National Weather Service is forecasting gusts between 50 and 70 mph.
“We know that high critical fire conditions will continue through Wednesday,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Maroney said Sunday.
Newsom, a Democrat, responded to attacks from President-elect Donald Trump, who accused the governor of depleting water supplies to protect an endangered species of fish, and refusing to sign a “water restoration declaration water” which would have “allowed millions of gallons of water. . . flowing daily into many parts of California.” Newsom’s office said no such statement existed.
Trump, who has had a long-running feud with Newsom and nicknamed him “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.
“I think this misinformation and disinformation does not benefit or help any of us,” he added. “We would spend another month responding to Donald Trump’s insults. I know them very well. All the elected officials with whom he disagrees know them very well.”
Newsom also said he had invited the president-elect to tour affected areas, but had yet to receive a response from Trump’s transition team.
The governor said on social media platform X that the Palisades and Eaton fires were 11 percent and 27 percent contained, while the Hurst fire was 89 percent contained. He issued an executive order that he said would prevent those who lost their homes from being “caught up in red tape” so they could quickly rebuild.
The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency raised the possibility Sunday that U.S. troops could be sent to Los Angeles to help bring the fire under control.
“There are active duty military personnel who are ready to deploy, who are ready to come in and continue to support the firefighting efforts,” Deanne Criswell told ABC’s This Week. Speaking on CNN, she warned that strong winds expected in the coming days could further spread the fire.
No official estimate of the cost of the damage has yet been released, but AccuWeather analysts last week estimated the economic loss at $135 billion to $150 billion, less than the $250 billion associated with the hurricane. Hélène from last year. The Ministry of Forestry and Fire Protection said Sunday that 12,300 structures had been destroyed.
President Biden promised Thursday that the US government would pay “100% of all costs” caused by the disaster and ask Congress for additional financial assistance.
Trump, who during his election campaign last year threatened to cut off disaster funding in California, has so far remained silent on whether he would provide similar aid. On Sunday, he renewed his attacks on state officials.
“Incompetent Poles do not know how to put [the fires] outside,” he wrote. “There is death everywhere. It is one of the worst disasters in the history of our country. They just can’t put out fires. What’s wrong with them?
