President Donald Trump on Monday said the wildfires that have devastated California wine country and other parts of the state over the last week, leaving at least 40 people dead and destroying thousands of homes, were “a very sad thing to watch.”
“It’s very sad to watch how fast, how rapidly they move and how people are caught in their houses. I mean, it’s an incredible thing. Caught in their houses,” Trump said at a cabinet meeting.
He said the White House has issued a disaster declaration in the state and has “made a lot of progress in the past couple of days.”
“We mourn the terrible loss of life. We have FEMA and first responders there. We have our military helping,” Trump said. “But we’re a little subject to winds and what happens with nature. But it’s been a very sad thing to watch.”
Trump pledged federal support last week for survivors of the devastating wildfires, but has not been particularly outspoken about them since. Hundreds of people remain unaccounted for, and nearly 11,000 firefighters were still working to douse 15 fires on Monday.
