Wildfires that scorched more than 248,300 acres in northern and southern California are close to containment, officials say. But after firefighters spent nearly two weeks battling the flames, a lot of work – and danger – remains.

Heavy rains forecast across the state this week threaten mudslides and floods in the burn areas and misery for the displaced, who are camping outside. The rain looms as agencies scramble to assist the tens of thousands left without homes, and continue search and rescue efforts.

The new threats come as Ryan Zinke, the interior secretary, blamed “environmental radicals” for the destructive wildfire during a visit to the scorched town of Paradise over the weekend. Zinke told reporters that now was not the time to point fingers. He then pointed his own at activists, whom he blames for their pushback against the thinning of the forests.

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Speaking with Breitbart news on Sunday, Zinke said: “I will lay this on the foot of those environmental radicals that have prevented us from managing the forests for

years. And you know what? This is on them.”

Scientific assessments and consensus from fire officials hold that the worsening wildfires – and accompanying risk of mudslides – are fueled by climate change, yet the Trump administration has continued to blame environmentalists.

The Camp fire killed at least 79, left hundreds unaccounted for and razed the town of Paradise in northern California, engulfing 12,637 homes. Now 70% contained, the fire has burned across 151,373 acres in areas that are now facing inclement weather.

“It’s going to become a mud pit tomorrow and a health hazard” from human waste, a volunteer, Jennifer Morse, said of the Walmart parking lot in Chico, where almost 140 tents remain pitched, despite talk that the encampment was to be cleared this past Sunday. Morse estimated that half the campers were fire evacuees and that another half were already homeless in Chico and the Paradise area.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Fire evacuees sift through a surplus of donated items in a parking lot in Chico, California. Photograph: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images

Roadblocks around smaller communities have been removed this week, but Paradise itself remains a ghost town off-limits to the public as officials search for human remains, clear fallen power lines and take down weakened trees.

The National Weather Service issued flash flood watches through the end of the week and warned of winds gusting up to 40mph that could bring down fire-damaged trees.

Agencies have begun shifting resources from the firefight to fire aftermath, warning residents of the possibility of downed power lines, leaking propane, shut-down services, and embers that could reignite homes.

“Time is of the essence,” the Cal Fire assistant deputy director, Matthew Reischman, said in a video posted the agency’s website, adding that structural protection and sandbags are being provided to aid in preparation. “We are going to identify those areas very rapidly, as quick as we can, and then establish emergency protective measures to put them in place, so when the rains come this winter we will be able to provide them as soon as we can.”

The rain risks are lower in the southern part of the state, where the Woolsey fire tore through 96,949 acres, scorching 1,500 structures and killing three. But officials are still concerned over possible precipitation: burn areas can remain in danger of increased debris flows for years after high-intensity fires.

“When you have the high-intensity burns, carbon in the soil seals the soil’s surface,” Christian Renschler, a disaster response expert and professor of geography at University at Buffalo, explained why the water isn’t absorbed into the parched earth.

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“And it is not only the runoff in terms of the water,” he adds. “These debris flows are so heavy and full of sediment and ash – anything that has washed off – it is almost like a cement-type of mixture that is running down the landscape.”

Because of the increasing intensity and scale of the fires, the mudslides could be worse than ever before. “This is the cascading effect,” Renschler said, adding that infrastructure and roads that survived the flames could now be taken out by the mud, and toxic ash and rubble could run into reservoirs.

“These fires are so large it would take some time and also a significant financial effort to prepare all the areas that would be at risk. What they need to do is set priorities for which ones are most likely endangering people.”

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Zinke’s comments in Paradise were not his first controversial remarks in the aftermath of a fire. In August, he took issue with scientific research that links wildfires to climate change and said: “America is better than letting these radical groups control the dialogue about climate change.”

His comments followed criticism over statements from Donald Trump, who forgot the town’s name and repeated his claims that fires were caused by forest mismanagement.

Over the weekend, California’s governor, Jerry Brown, struck a different tone and emphasized the climate threat. “We are in for very difficult times,” he said. “We will have problems in the years to come. Get ready – because we are always under some kind of threat.”