'This is very sad to see': Trump surveys California wildfire devastation after 76 killed

Show Caption Hide Caption President Trump witnesses devastation caused by Calif. wildfires President Donald Trump met with California Governor Jerry Brown, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom and first responders at Northern California wildfire-burned areas.

PARADISE, Calif. — Against a smoky, hazy backdrop Saturday, President Donald Trump visited this burned-out retirement community, which was hardest hit in the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century.

Trump, wearing a windbreaker and a black cap emblazoned with "USA," surveyed a scene of charred cars and the remains of houses incinerated in the Camp Fire, which has left at least 76 people dead, growing by five victims Saturday.

At one point, the presidential motorcade pulled into a mobile home and RV park, stopping in front of an American flag hanging from what was left of a burned structure.

“Right now, we want to take care of the people who have been so badly hurt,” the president said. “This is very sad to see. As far as the lives are concerned, nobody knows quite yet.”

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Under questioning from reporters, Trump returned to his weeklong theme that forest management was to blame for the wildfires. He earlier had threatened to withhold federal money because of what he deemed as state officials' mismanagement.

"Other countries do it differently. It's a whole different story," he said, citing purported comments from the president of Finland on how that country deals with its forests. He said officials engage in "raking and cleaning things, and they don't have any problem."

Gesturing at the rubble and destruction, Trump, who was flanked by Gov. Jerry Brown and Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, both Democrats, said state and federal partners would "get this cleaned up" and "take care of the floors of the forest."

"I think hopefully this will be the last of these. This was a really, really bad one," Trump said.

Asked at one point if the massive fire had changed his mind on climate change, the president said: “No, no.”

Paradise, which had a population of 27,000, was destroyed in the Camp Fire, which heavily damaged the outlying communities of Magalia and Concow. About 10,000 homes were burned down, and 52,000 people at its height were driven out.

Authorities say they still are trying to locate 1,276 people unaccounted for. Officials emphasize that not all the people listed are believed missing and may simply have not checked in amid the chaos.

Brown told reporters that state and local teams, backed with federal financial help, were focused on cleanup and the search for more possible victims.

"What needs to be done is being done,” he said, adding, "it is just a big, massive cleanup after a terrible tragedy."

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Later, Brown, who has clashed with the president multiple times, added aboard Air Force One that climate change was to blame for the fires.

"Yes. Yes, we’ll let science determine this over a longer period of time,” the governor said in response to a question about climate change. “Right now, we’re collaborating on the most immediate response, and that’s very important.”

Trump visits Camp Fire site: Protesters and supporters react Supporters and protesters lined the route to his meeting with Gov. Jerry Brown and Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom.

Trump chimed in: "We have different views, but maybe not as different as people think. Things are happening. Things are changing. And I think most importantly we’re doing things about — to make it better. We’re going to make it a lot better.”

Air Force One cut through smoke-choked skies to touch down Saturday afternoon at Beale Air Force Base, about 36 miles south of the devastating Camp Fire.

The fire is only 55 percent contained and already has destroyed more than 230 square miles. Fire officials do not expect to bring the blaze under control until Nov. 30.

Brown and Newsom joined him aboard the Marine One helicopter to travel to the hardest-hit area 2½ hours away. They said earlier they welcomed the visit, saying it's time “to pull together for the people of California.”

The group then flew north to Chico, the site of the firefighters' command center about 10 miles west of the devastated town of Paradise.

► Nov. 15: Wildfire smoke brings world's worst air quality to northern California

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Hearing the president pledge to help those who have lost everything gave Casey and Ryan Belcher a glimmer of hope as they rode out yet another day camped at the Chico Walmart after their Paradise home went up in flames.

"I hope he helps us. I hope he sees what we're all going through," said Casey Belcher, 33. "I hope he sees what we're all going through and he feels our emotional pain."

The Belchers and their three children, ages 4 to 10, have been staying in tents and trucks since the fire broke out Nov. 8. They've applied for Federal Emergency Management Agency aid but are praying for housing in the meantime because they're worried about what all the smoke is doing to their children.

"I hope he sees something," Ryan Belcher, 30, said of Trump potentially meeting with evacuees. "The fact that we are not the ones to blame in this — why should we have to be the ones stuck with the hardship of it?"

As the presidential motorcade departed, hundreds of people lined the streets to see it go by, about half wearing masks and most capturing the event on their phones.

Some had American flags. A few had Trump signs; Butte County voted for Trump by 4 percentage points in the 2016 election.

One group of silent protesters held two banners that mentioned “climate change” and the “apocalypse.” One resident held a “Welcome President Trump” sign while another held one that read: “Moron, we're in a drought.”

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During Trump's visit, Amy Velazquez brought a friend, Tina Thomas, to the FEMA assistance center at Chico Mall. Thomas was forced to evacuate because of the fire.

The line stretched out the door. Families with children and the elderly waited for help.

Trump sees Calif. wildfire devastation up close President Donald Trump says he traveled to the heart of California's killer wildfire to fully grasp the scale of the devastation wrought on the landscape (Nov. 17)

They left not knowing when that help will come.

Velazquez said she was appalled that the president's first reaction wasn’t one of compassion. Her husband is a firefighter, and she hoped Trump’s visit would aim to heal.

“Threatening to not send resources was the biggest blow," she said. "They’re thinking is hope alive? It was pretty devastating.”

Assistance needs to be swift and cover affected families for the short and long-term, she said.

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Trump also stopped in Southern California, where a gunman killed a dozen people Nov. 7 at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks before committing suicide.

He met with several family members of those killed along with first responders to the massacre in southern California.

"We just hugged them and we kissed them — and everybody. And it was very warm," the president said after meeting privately with those affected by the attack that killed 12. "It was tragic, and yet in one way it was a very beautiful moment," the president said.

Trump said his tour of the devastation from the fires mixed with meeting those affected by the shooting was hard.

"This has been a tough day when you look at all of the death from one place to the next," the president said. "What can you say other than it’s so sad to see? These are great people. Great families, torn apart."

Major disaster and emergency declarations that the president signed will cover up to 75 percent of the state's costs for removing debris, providing transitional housing and more, according to the White House.

There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018

A public health emergency declared by the Department of Health and Human Services will let Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and their health-care providers meet their immediate health needs, officials said.

Zoeylee Belcher, a 10-year-old living in a tent and truck with her father in a field beside a Walmart in Chico, said she misses her Paradise home that they fled as flames closed in

“I don’t know the rest of my friends if they made it out,” she said.

Doug Stanglin reported from McLean, Virginia. Dianna M. Náñez reports for The Arizona Republic. Contributing: Alayna Shulman and Mike Chapman, Redding (Calif.) Record Searchlight