Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption President Trump praised the efforts of police, politicians and recovery teams

US President Donald Trump has visited California to survey the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state's history.

The Camp Fire, in northern California, has killed at least 76 people.

More than 1,200 people have been reported missing, although officials say that figure could fluctuate.

In the destroyed town of Paradise, Mr Trump described the scene as "sad" and reiterated his disputed claim that poor forest management was to blame.

"We do have to do management maintenance and we'll be working also with environmental groups. I think everyone's seen the light," he said.

"I don't think we'll have this again to this extent," he added.

Experts have pointed to the weather, climate change and population shifts as bigger causes of the wildfires.

Besides the Camp Fire, firefighters are also tackling several other blazes, including the Woolsey Fire near Los Angeles which has claimed at least three lives.

Adding to the misery, scores of people have become sick after outbreaks of the norovirus at shelters, and the air quality in northern California has been rated the world's worst.

Heavy rain is forecast next week that could douse the flames but also bring mudslides and floods on hillsides stripped of vegetation.

What kind of welcome did President Trump get?

The US president was greeted by Governor Jerry Brown and his successor Gavin Newsom, both of whom are Democrats and have sparred with Mr Trump over the wildfires.

"Now is a time to pull together for the people of California," Governor Brown tweeted.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Mr Trump viewed the damage to homes in the town of Paradise, which was ravaged by fire

In Paradise, Mr Trump praised the efforts of local law enforcement, politicians and the teams searching for survivors on the ground.

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

Some locals held up pro-Trump signs, although one called him a "moron".

Later in the day, Mr Trump, Governor Brown and Governor-elect Newsom visited an area in southern California affected by the Woolsey fire.

Speaking to journalists, Mr Trump - who repeatedly referred to the devastated town of Paradise as "Pleasure" - and Mr Newsom pledged to work together to prevent future wildfire tragedies.

However, the president said it had not changed his point of view on climate change. Authorities have suggested the scale of the fire was in part fuelled by a severe lack of rain in the state.

"I have a strong opinion," Mr Trump told reporters. "I want great climate and we're going to have that and we're going to have forests that are very safe."

What's the latest on the Camp Fire?

The death toll rose to 76 on Saturday after more bodies were found, most of them in Paradise.

So far, officials have tentatively identified 63 of the dead, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea told reporters.

Troops are assisting forensics teams and cadaver dogs as they continue to search for human remains, eight days after the Camp Fire first broke out.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Dogs are being used to search for human remains among the devastation

Sheriff Honea put the number of people unaccounted for at 1,276. However, he also said 714 people have been found alive and removed from the list.

On Friday, the sheriff described the list as "dynamic".

"The information I am providing you is raw data and we find there is the likely possibility that the list contains duplicate names," he said.

Some of those on the list may be fine but unaware they have been reported missing, or unable to call, authorities say.

The Camp Fire is now about 55% contained but fire officials say they may not have it fully under control until the end of the month.

Historically, California's "wildfire season" started in summer and ran into early autumn - but experts have warned that the risk is now year-round.

Low humidity, warm winds, and dry ground after a rain-free month have produced a prime fire-spreading environment.

Have you been affected by the wildfires? If it is safe to do so please get in touch. Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:</s>Trump visits site of California's most deadly fire, pledges federal help

"To see what's happened here — nobody would have ever thought this could have happened," Trump said while visiting the devastated town of Paradise.</s>President Donald Trump has spent his Saturday in California, where he surveyed the destruction from the wildfires that have been raging across the state.

Northern California's Camp Fire and the Woolsey Fire in the south have collectively burned more than 240,000 acres, killed at least 74 people, and more than 1,000 people are still missing.

“Nobody thought this could happen,” Trump told reporters during one of his stops.

He also said, after viewing the destruction, that his views on climate change had remained unchanged.

Read more of CNN's coverage on California's fires here.</s>Fire officials confirmed the death toll for the Camp Fire disaster in California has increased to 71 casualties.

During a news conference on Friday, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea confirmed the bodies of eight people were found since Thursday evening, according to multiple local news outlets. Of those, seven people were found in Paradise and one person was found in Magalia.

In addition, the number of missing people in California’s most deadly and destructive fire is now 1,011. More than 12,000 structures have been destroyed.

RELATED: Paradise Residents Speak Out After Deadly Wildfire Ravages California Town: ‘We Have Nothing’

On Thursday, photographer Josh Edelson captured heartbreaking images of a burned neighborhood in Paradise, a city in the northeastern Sacramento Valley that has been heavily affected by the wildfires.

Aerial views of the neighborhood show the devastation from the flames which left all the houses gutted with only its concrete foundation, blackened metal and charred remains.

The number of people who perished in the Camp Fire has more than doubled the number from the second-deadliest wildfire in state history — the 1933 Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles, according to the .

“This had to be one of the most surreal experiences I’ve ever had,” Cal Fire firefighter Josh Smario, 23, recently told PEOPLE about the once-picturesque town.

“Standing in what used to be my house while I’m working to save the town I live in. The house I thought my son would experience his first years of his life in. Then hopping right back in the engine to go fight the blaze that took my house and my grandparents’ house,” Smario said.

“It wiped out all of my family’s houses, but thank God they all made it out safe,” he added. “It’s a war zone. When you saw how many bodies didn’t make it out, I could care less about the things that were lost.”

On Friday, the town of Paradise announced there will be a vigil for all those impacted by the Camp Fire. The vigil will take place on Nov. 18 from 4-7 p.m. at the First Christian Church of Chico.

Along with the Camp Fire, the Woolsey Fire in California also continues to impact those in the state. It burned through more than 98,000 acres and is 69 percent contained as of Friday, according to CalFire.

A handful of stars have lost their homes, including Kim Basinger, Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth, Neil Young, Robin Thicke, Camille Grammer and Gerard Butler.

In addition to the Woolsey Fire, the Hill Fire, located near the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks — the site of the tragic mass shooting — has burned through thousands of acres after erupting last Thursday. The blaze is now 100 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.

To help victims of the California wildfires, visit the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, the California Fire Foundation and the American Red Cross, for more information.</s>CHICO (KRON) - The Butte County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the death toll in the Camp Fire is now at 63 and 631 people are unaccounted for.

Authorities say 53 of those victims have been tentatively identified, but their names aren't being released to the public just yet.

There are 631 people reported missing but deputies say some of those people could be in shelters.

The blaze has burned 141,000 acres and has the deadliest wildfire in California history.

A grand total of 11,862 structures were destroyed in the Camp Fire and 9,700 of those were homes.

Fire investigators discovered a possible second origin for the start of the Camp Fire but the blaze remains under investigation.

WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON:</s>The task is painstaking and painful. A searcher is given the name of someone who is unaccounted for and an address.

A team heads over to the property, more than likely one where every evidence of life has been wiped out by flames. Many of the searchers are local and have lost their own homes. Now they look to see whether they can find the remains of their neighbors.

Five more sets of remains were found Saturday, Butte County Sheriff and Coroner Kory Honea said.

There are now at least 76 dead from the Camp Fire, which has obliterated more structures and lives than any previous fire in California.

Almost all of the town of Paradise is gone. President Donald Trump witnessed the devastation for himself Saturday, accompanied by Gov. Jerry Brown and Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom.

“We’re all going to work together and we’ll do a real job, but this is very sad to see,” Trump said.

A list of people unaccounted for has almost 1,300 names on it. Officials hope they find those people at shelters, or that missing people were simply without phone service and will eventually call in, or that they will figure out duplicate names when reconciling the list.

They are also trying to help thousands of people who did make it out alive but have nowhere to go, except for the parking lot of a Walmart and other places that are hosting thousands in their vehicles and tents.

“It is overwhelming, I don’t have any word to describe it,” Honea told CNN on Saturday. “This is unprecedented. No one has had to deal with this magnitude that caused so much destruction and regrettably so much death.”

The deadliest and most destructive wildfire in state history, the Camp Fire has destroyed more than 9,800 homes and scorched 149,000 acres since starting November 8. It was 55% contained as of Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, three deaths have been reported in the Woolsey Fire in Southern California, bringing the statewide death toll from the wildfires to 79.

‘A lot of people don’t know … we’re looking for them’

Even as the list of those missing in the Camp Fire has ballooned, it’s hard to tell exactly how many people truly are lost, officials have said.

“That is raw data we’re collecting from phone calls, emails and the 911 system,” Honea said Saturday. “It’s not perfect data, but our thought process is that it’s better to get that information out to help start getting people accounted for. So rather than wait for perfection, we’re trying to get some progress going.”

Hundreds of deputies, National Guard troops, coroners and anthropologists are sifting through leveled homes and mangled cars for remains. While the focus is on the homes of people reported missing, some teams are going down streets from one property to the next.

“I want you to understand that there are a lot of people displaced, and we’re finding that a lot of people don’t know that we’re looking for them,” the sheriff said.

If people find their own or loved ones’ names on the list at the Butte County Sheriff’s Office’s website, they should call the sheriff’s office, Honea said.

In the midst of despair, hope remains. The mayor of Paradise told CNN Saturday that she is committed to rebuilding her town, as is the town council.

“Paradise is not gone,” Jody Jones said, citing a friend’s Facebook post. “It’s just closed for remodeling.”

Margaret Newsum gathered her medicine and other vital supplies and went outside her home in Magalia as the Camp Fire roared toward her home.

She had no phone service and no electricity, and she was just hoping someone would see her and come help.

Her rescue came in the form of a big green garbage truck and driver Dane Ray Cummings.

“He said, you’re going with me,” Newsum, 93, recalled.

Newsum recently broke her back and uses a walker to get around, which made it tricky to get up into the cab of his garbage truck. Cummings and some neighbors lifted her up and buckled her in, and they strapped her walker to the side of the truck.

Harrison, a single father, decided Newsum shouldn’t go to an evacuation center so instead he took her home with him.

And she’ll be there a while. Newsum’s home wasn’t destroyed, but it might be months before she can live there again.

Escape took them through ditches, front yards

With each day another story comes that makes it clearer how chaotic it was on the flame-filled and smoky day that the fire erupted.

Dan Newman, a team captain with the Butte County Sheriff’s search and rescue team, said he originally was tasked with going door to door to alert people in the community of Concow to the fire.

The mission quickly changed to go to Paradise, about a 20-mile drive away, where a hospital was in danger.

“When we arrived at the hospital there were already flames, and all of a sudden the urgency just skyrocketed,” he said.

His team went around to the ER entrance and threw four patients in its truck.

The road that went by the hospital was swamped with cars and accidents. Drivers used every bit of open space they could, including ditches and racing through front yards, to get by.

The fire was faster than any vehicle was moving.

“We had homes on fire on each side,” he said, adding that there were times when he feared for their lives.

They got out, but another team couldn’t and ended up back at the hospital.

The Woolsey Fire burning in Southern California has destroyed 836 structures in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, Cal Fire said.

More than 98,000 acres have been burned since the blaze began November 8, while evacuees remain in shelters, and portions of Malibu and nearby areas must be rebuilt, officials said. It was 82% contained on Saturday morning, Cal Fire reported.

Impact Your World: How you can help the fire victims

“Resources will continue to mop up and patrol. Fire suppression repair teams are actively engaged working around the fire perimeter and affected areas,” the agency said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Cal Fire reported some improvement in smoke levels regionally Saturday, but the air was still in the very unhealthy range.</s>CHICO, Calif. (AP) — Several people who fled the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century clustered around a television set at an evacuation center Saturday and watch President Donald Trump survey what remained of their Northern California community.

But for the most part, survivors, some who had barely escaped and no longer had homes, were too busy packing up what little they had left or seeking help to pay much attention to the president’s visit.

Michelle Mack Couch, 49, waited in line to get into a Federal Emergency Management Agency center in the city of Chico. She needed a walker for her elderly mother and tags for her car.

“Let’s hope he gets us some help,” said Couch, who voted for Trump and whose house was among more than 9,800 that burned down last week.

But as far as taking time out to watch the president, she said wryly, “We don’t have a TV anymore.”

Hours after California’s outgoing and incoming governors joined Trump as he surveyed the devastation in the town of Paradise, authorities raised the death toll to 76 and warned people being let back into previously evacuated areas to watch out for any remains.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea also reiterated his plea for people to check the list his office puts out of those reported as unaccounted for so that they can mark themselves as safe.

He said deputies have located hundreds but the roster has nearly 1,300 names, including duplicates and people who are likely OK, but haven’t checked in.

“It’s really very important for you to take a look at the list and call us if you’re on the list,” Honea said.

Gov. Jerry Brown and Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom welcomed Trump’s visit and joined him in a tour of Paradise, population 27,000.

The tour came as firefighters raced to get ahead of strong winds expected overnight and authorities struggled to locate 1,011 people who were unaccounted for. Authorities stressed that not all on the list are believed missing, but the death toll from the Camp Fire has risen daily, standing at 71.

The fire zone in Northern California is to some extent Trump country. He beat Hillary Clinton by 4 percentage points in Butte County in 2016. That enthusiasm was on display as dozens of people cheered and waved flags as his motorcade went by.

But elsewhere, others were searching for friends. At an unofficial encampment next to a Walmart in Chico, many were packing up to find another temporary place to sleep after being told to leave by Sunday.

That included Maggie Missere-Crowder, who said she was focused on getting her tent and boxes of food into her pickup truck.

Missere-Crowder, 61, and her husband had fled their home in Magalia, a community near Paradise that also was devastated, and now planned to go to a shelter in Yuba City, about an hour’s drive from the Walmart.

She said she was angry about Trump’s tweet last week blaming forest mismanagement for the Nov. 8 fire, a sentiment he evoked in his visit and has stirred resentment among survivors.

“Like we’ve done it on purpose. It’s like a slap in the face,” Missere-Crowder said.

Still, she said that if she met him, she would say, “Think about what you’re saying, because it takes away from all the good stuff you’re doing.”

Al Coppa, who lost two homes and doesn’t know the fate of a third in Magalia, was among a handful of people watching news about Trump’s visit on a TV outside a Red Cross shelter in Chico.

He said he hopes the attention will speed up recovery for wildfire victims.

“I hope that only good comes out of it. Good for the people that have been devastated by this. It’s just such a horrible thing. I couldn’t believe how bad it was,” said Coppa, who has been living in hotels.

Trump also was visiting Southern California, where firefighters were making progress on a wildfire that tore through communities west of Los Angeles from Thousand Oaks to Malibu, killing three people.

In Northern California, thousands of personnel battled the flames spanning about 230 square miles (600 square kilometers), officials said. It was halfway contained.

Firefighters were racing against time with winds up to 40 mph and low humidity expected Saturday night into Sunday. Rain was forecast for midweek, which could help firefighters but also complicate the search for remains.

The number of people unaccounted for has grown to more than 1,000. But Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said the list was “dynamic” and could easily contain duplicate names and the names of people who are safe.

Brown, Newsom and Trump pledged to work together and showed a united front at several media stops Saturday.

Kevin Cory, a wildfire evacuee who lost his home in Paradise, praised Trump for coming to a state that is often at odds with the White House.

“I think that California’s been really horrible to him and the fights. I mean they’re suing him,” he said. “It’s back and forth between the state and the feds. It’s not right.”</s>President Donald Trump heads to Northern California on Saturday to see firsthand the grief and devastation from the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century, as confusion continued over how many people remain unaccounted for.

President Donald Trump heads to Northern California on Saturday to see firsthand the grief and devastation from the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century, as confusion continued over how many people remain unaccounted for.

CHICO, Calif. (AP) — Nearly 1,300 people remain unaccounted for and the death toll from the country’s deadliest wildfire in a century climbed to 76, authorities said Saturday, hours after President Donald Trump surveyed what remained of a decimated Northern California community.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea pleaded with fire evacuees to check the roster of people reported as unreachable by family and friends and to call in if they are safe. Deputies have located hundreds of people to date, but the overall number keeps growing because officials are adding names, including those reported as missing during the disaster’s chaotic early hours, Honea said.

“It’s really very important for you to take a look at the list and call us if you’re on the list,” he said.

The remains of five more people were found Saturday, including four in the decimated town of Paradise and one in nearby Concow, bringing the number of dead to 76.

Honea said among the dead was Lolene Rios, 56, whose son Jed tearfully told KXTV in Sacramento that his mother “had endless amount of love for me.”

Trump toured the area Saturday, joined by California’s outgoing and incoming governors, both Democrats who have traded sharp barbs with the Republican administration. He also visited Southern California, where firefighters were making progress on a wildfire that tore through communities west of Los Angeles from Thousand Oaks to Malibu, killing three people.

The president pledged the full support of the federal government. Gov. Jerry Brown and Gov-elect Gavin Newsom thanked him for coming out.

“We’ve never seen anything like this in California, we’ve never seen anything like this yet. It’s like total devastation,” Trump said as he stood amid the ruins of Paradise.

Firefighters are racing to get ahead of strong winds and low humidity expected overnight and into Sunday afternoon. Rain was forecast for midweek, which could help firefighters but also complicate the search for remains.

Northern California’s Camp Fire has destroyed nearly 10,000 homes and torched 233 square miles (600 square kilometers). It is 55 percent contained.

The fire zone in Northern California is to some extent Trump country, and that enthusiasm was on display as dozens of people cheered and waved flags as his motorcade went by.

Kevin Cory, a wildfire evacuee who lost his home in Paradise, praised Trump for coming to a state that is often at odds with the White House.

“I think that California’s been really horrible to him and the fights. I mean they’re suing him,” he said. “It’s back and forth between the state and the feds. It’s not right.”

But for the most part, survivors, some who had barely escaped and no longer had homes, were too busy packing up what little they had left or seeking help to pay much attention to the president’s visit.

Michelle Mack Couch, 49, waited in line to get into a Federal Emergency Management Agency center in the city of Chico. She needed a walker for her elderly mother and tags for her car.

“Let’s hope he gets us some help,” said Couch, who voted for Trump and whose house was among those burned down last week.

But as far as taking time out to watch the president, she said wryly, “We don’t have a TV anymore.”

At an unofficial encampment next to a Walmart store in Chico, many were packing up to find another temporary place to sleep after being told to leave by Sunday.

That included Maggie Missere-Crowder, who said she was focused on getting her tent and boxes of food into her pickup truck.

Missere-Crowder, 61, and her husband had fled their home in Magalia, a community near Paradise that also was devastated, and now planned to go to a shelter in Yuba City, about an hour’s drive from the Walmart.

She said she was angry about Trump’s tweet last week blaming forest mismanagement for the Nov. 8 fire, a sentiment he evoked in his visit that has stirred resentment among survivors.

“Like we’ve done it on purpose. It’s like a slap in the face,” Missere-Crowder said.

In Southern California, Trump also met briefly at an airport hangar with families and first responders touched by the shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks more than a week ago.

Trump called the shooting at a country music bar, which left 12 dead, “a horrible, horrible event.”

Associated Press writers Jonathan Lemire in Paradise, California, and Janie Har and Daisy P. Nguyen in San Francisco contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>Northern California crews battling the country's deadliest wildfire in a century were bracing for strong winds, with gusts up to 50 miles per hour, creating the potential to erode gains they have made in containing a disaster that has killed at least 76 and leveled a town.Even as hundreds of searchers sift through the rubble in the town of Paradise looking for the dead, nearly 1,300 people remain unaccounted for more than a week after the fire sparked in Butte County, Sheriff Kory Honea announced Saturday night. Authorities stressed that the long roster does not mean they believe all those people are missing.Honea pleaded with fire evacuees Saturday to review the list of those reported as unreachable by family and friends and call if they are safe. Deputies have located hundreds of people to date, but the overall number keeps growing because they are adding more names, including those from the disaster's chaotic early hours, Honea said."It's really very important for you to take a look at the list and call us if you're on the list," he said.The remains of five more people were found Saturday, including four in the decimated town of Paradise and one in nearby Concow, bringing the number of dead to 76.Honea said among the dead was Lolene Rios, 56, whose son Jed tearfully told KXTV in Sacramento that his mother "had endless amount of love for me."President Donald Trump toured the area Saturday, joined by California's outgoing and incoming governors, both Democrats who have traded sharp barbs with the Republican administration. He also visited Southern California, where firefighters were making progress on a wildfire that tore through communities west of Los Angeles from Thousand Oaks to Malibu, killing three people.The president pledged the full support of the federal government. Gov. Jerry Brown and Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom thanked him for coming out."We've never seen anything like this in California, we've never seen anything like this yet. It's like total devastation," Trump said as he stood amid the ruins of Paradise.Rain was forecast for midweek, which could help firefighters but also complicate the search for remains.Northern California's Camp Fire has destroyed nearly 10,000 homes and torched 233 square miles (603 square kilometers). It is 55 percent contained.The fire zone in Northern California is to some extent Trump country, and that enthusiasm was on display as dozens of people cheered and waved flags as his motorcade went by.Kevin Cory, a wildfire evacuee who lost his home in Paradise, praised Trump for coming to a state that is often at odds with the White House."I think that California's been really horrible to him and the fights. I mean they're suing him," he said. "It's back and forth between the state and the feds. It's not right."But for the most part, survivors, some who had barely escaped and no longer had homes, were too busy packing up what little they had left or seeking help to pay much attention to the president's visit.Michelle Mack Couch, 49, waited in line to get into a Federal Emergency Management Agency center in the city of Chico. She needed a walker for her elderly mother and tags for her car."Let's hope he gets us some help," said Couch, who voted for Trump and whose rental home burned down last week. But as far as taking time out to watch the president, she said wryly, "We don't have a TV anymore."Honea expressed hope that Trump's visit would help with recovery, saying the tour by the Republican president and California's Democratic leaders "signals a spirit of cooperation here that ultimately benefit this community and get us on a path toward recovery."In Southern California, Trump also met briefly at an airport hangar with families and first responders touched by the shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks more than a week ago.Trump called the shooting at a country music bar, which left 12 dead, "a horrible, horrible event."</s>Click here if you are unable to view this gallery on a mobile device.

President Donald Trump got a mostly warm welcome Saturday as he toured the ashes of Paradise, at the center of California’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire on record, a calamity he again blamed on poor forest management.

“One thing that really touched me is that he said, ‘We have to help these people because they’re my people’,” said Paradise Mayor Jody Jones, who toured what was left of a 55-unit mobile-home park with Trump and other local and state officials. Jones, whose own house burned to the ground, said the President meant it “the way I mean it — that we’re all Americans.”

Hours after Trump left to fly to Southern California, where he toured Malibu, hard hit by the Woolsey Fire, authorities announced that the Camp Fire has killed at least 76 people — more than double the toll from a 1933 fire that had been the state’s deadliest — since it erupted Nov. 8. They said 1,276 people are still unaccounted for, though they noted that the list may include people who haven’t notified officials that they are safe.

The blaze destroyed 9,700 homes, 144 apartments and 336 commercial properties, leaving little left of Paradise. By Saturday it had spread to 149,000 acres and was 55 percent contained.

PG&E also reported late Friday that it detected a malfunction in a distribution line in the town of Concow at 6:45 a.m. the morning of the fire. That malfunction could be linked to the mysterious “second start” of the Camp Fire that Cal Fire is investigating in that area east of Concow reservoir.

Saturday’s trip was only Trump’s second visit to California since his election two years ago after a trip in March to see border wall prototypes outside San Diego and to attend a fundraiser in Beverly Park.

But while California overall has been hostile territory, with state leaders battling the President over immigration and climate policy, Butte County is Trump country, choosing him over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

Hundreds of his backers, many wearing face masks to filter the smoky air and holding U.S. flags, lined the streets of Chico, a college town 12 miles west of Paradise, to catch a glimpse of his motorcade.

“I can’t believe he’s in Chico — it’s just wild,” said Chico State University business student Brittany Dekreek, who was among a crowd of Trump supporters along the main route from Chico to Paradise waiting to see the President pass by. “With all the people who are suffering right now, it’s really great that he’s coming.”

One opponent of the President, in apparent response to Trump’s repeated suggestion that bad forest management contributed to the Camp Fire, held a sign saying, “Moron, we’re in a drought.”

Gov. Jerry Brown and Lt. Governor and Governor-elect Gavin Newsom met Trump when he arrived mid-morning at Beale Air Force base near Marysville. The president arrived in Paradise, wearing a camouflage “USA” cap, after flying in a helicopter over the fire area. He stopped in front of an American flag hanging from what was left of a burned structure, walked between strewn, blackened ovens, a metal shelf with charred plant pots on top, burned-out cars.

“This is very sad to see,” Trump said afterward. “It’s total devastation. The federal government is behind you.”

The President’s tour brought him close to the home of Brad Weldon, one of the few in Paradise who fought the blaze instead of evacuating.

“It’s good he showed up,” said Weldon, who voted for Trump. “Not too many people have seen this much devastation in one place. He’s seen hurricanes and tornadoes, but fires are different. There’s nothing left.”

Trump described as “incredible” the men and women battling the Camp Fire. “They’re out there fighting and they’re fighting like hell,” he said.

“Just having that support from higher up helps keep us happy,” Breese said.

Trump also had praise for police officers and other first-responders who helped evacuate residents and kept people safe as flames tore through communities.

Two days after the fire started, Trump blamed “poor” forest management and suggested federal funding for it would be cut off if it wasn’t fixed, drawing a sharp rebuke from the head of a state firefighters union who called the remark ill-informed.

The Camp Fire is believed to have started in or near Plumas National Forest, spreading initially on federal property.

Saturday, Trump again said forest management “seems to be a very big problem.” He mentioned that Finland, “a forest nation,” spends “a lot of time raking and cleaning and doing things, and they don’t have any problem.”

Trump said he spoke with Brown and Newsom about forest management during his trip and believes there will be cooperation with the state on reducing fire danger.

“We’re all going to work together and we’ll do a real job,” Trump said. “I know Gavin’s committed, we’re all committed, I’m committed to make sure that we get all of this cleaned out and protected.”

Brown offered simply that “what needs to be done is what’s being done” but thanked Trump “for putting his focus and spotlight on probably the worst tragedy that California has ever seen.”

Asked whether climate change played a role in the fire, Trump said “a lot of factors” contributed but that they didn’t change his thinking on the matter.

“I want a great climate,” Trump said. “We’re going to have that and I think we’re going to have forests that are really safe.”

Outside the firefighting command center in Chico where officials briefed Trump, a handful of protesters and dozens of the President’s supporters watched his motorcade come and go. The president didn’t stop to talk with residents, nor did he tour the evacuation centers.

Protester Carlos Lopez of Chico argued with Trump fans, and said he thought Trump’s comments about forest management were divisive and offensive.

“What we need now is federal money and help,” Lopez said. “It sickens me that he’s here, and I don’t want him here.”

But just down the road, Terri Cooper, 57, was overjoyed at having seen Trump pass by in his motorcade.

“He gets us and he cares about us,” she said. “This isn’t a political situation — it’s about people and community.”

Chico Enterprise-Record reporter Bianca Quilantan and Associated Press contributed to this report.
U.S. President Donald Trump visits victims of the Camp Fire and Woolsey Fire as the death toll rises to 79: 76 in the Camp Fire and three in the Woolsey Fire.