Two casualties have been reported in the twin infernos raging across 100 square miles in Southern California, bringing the number of wildfire deaths in the state during the last two days to 11.

Authorities say the two bodies were discovered in a sparsely populated stretch of Mulholland Highway in Malibu today after the Woolsey Fire tore through the area, forcing half a million people to evacuate.

The first two known deaths in the Woolsey and Hill fires came one day after nine people were reported dead in the Camp Fire several hundred miles north in Butte County.

Earlier on Saturday evacuees were being turned away from overflowing shelters while firefighters continued their tireless efforts to bring the infernos under control.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said the ‘extreme, tough fire conditions’ have been worse than the emergency crews ‘have never seen in their life’, while residents describe the situation as ‘hell’.

Communities across Ventura and Los Angeles counties including the city of Malibu, Calabasas and the Topanga Canyon area were placed under evacuation orders on Friday as the Woolsey and Hill fires razed countless buildings and homes to the ground.

More than 600 members of law enforcement canvassed the area through Friday night, pounding on doors to tell a quarter of a million residents to leave their homes as the fires closed in, covering more nearly 75,000 acres as of Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, the Camp Fire in Northern California, now the most destructive in state history, has claimed the lives of at least nine people and another 35 are missing.

The devastating fire almost entirely wiped out the town of Paradise when it tore across Butte County on Thursday and Friday, sending some 50,000 people running for their lives.

Meteorologists warn that strengthening westward winds could push the blaze toward the state capital in Sacramento.

As people die and many others face calamity, President Trump offered little empathy and instead threatened California officials.

In an angry tweet, Trump threatened to pull federal funding for the state if nothing is done to “remedy” the situation.

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

While Trump has been quick to help areas of the country that supported him in the 2016 election, he has had little empathy for places like Puerto Rico and California.

Fire officials said Trump’s statements, and remedies, were incorrect.

One leading California fire official on Saturday called Trump’s comments “a shameful attack on California.”

“The president’s assertion that California’s forest management policies are to blame for catastrophic wildfire is dangerously wrong,” California Professional Firefighters President Brian K. Rice said in a statement on Saturday.

“Wildfires are sparked and spread not only in forested areas but in populated areas and open fields fueled by parched vegetation, high winds, low humidity and geography,” he continued in the statement. “Moreover, nearly 60 percent of California forests are under federal management, and another two-thirds under private control. It is the federal government that has chosen to divert resources away from forest management, not California.”

“Natural disasters are not “red” or “blue” – they destroy regardless of party,” Rice concluded. “Right now, families are in mourning, thousands have lost homes, and a quarter-million Americans have been forced to flee. At this desperate time, we would encourage the president to offer support in word and deed, instead of recrimination and blame.”

On Saturday evening, after intense negative reaction on social media and 15 hours after his angry tweet, Trump changed course, tweeting support for the firefighters, the homeowners and the tragic victims of the west coast wildfires.