Officials from the states of the American west coast, ravaged by record and deadly fires, accused Donald Trump on Sunday, September 13 of denying the role of climate change. These fires have already killed at least 33 people since the start of the summer, including 25 this week alone in the three states of Washington, Oregon and California. But dozens of people were still missing on Sunday.
For local authorities, as for many experts, the scale of these fires is undoubtedly linked to climate change, which exacerbates chronic drought and causes extreme weather conditions. Donald Trump, who will travel to California on Monday, where he will meet with emergency service officials, for his part blamed the management of forests in these states controlled by his Democratic opponents.
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“This government is putting its head in the sand”
“The question is forest management”, he said at a campaign rally in Nevada on Saturday night, without ever mentioning climate change. “Remember those words, forest management. “ But on the ground rings a whole different story. “This government is putting its head in the sand” on the environmental issue, the mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, accused Sunday morning on CNN. “It’s not about forest management or sweeping. Everyone who lives in California feels insulted by this statement. “
“It is annoying (…) to have a president who denies that it is not only a question of forest fires, but of climatic fires”, abounded on ABC Jay Inslee, the governor of the state of Washington, where a death was mourned. The situation was still there “Apocalyptic” Sunday, he said, as fires still rage and thousands of people lost their homes there.
On Saturday, Joe Biden, Donald Trump’s Democratic opponent for the November presidential election, was also stepped up. “President Trump may seek to deny reality, but the facts are undeniable”, he said in a statement.
400,000 hectares gone to ashes in Oregon
In Oregon, ten deaths were recorded this week, but authorities were bracing for the worst once relief was able to return to areas still inaccessible. Near Beachie Creek Fire, east of the state capital, Salem, police had set up numerous roadblocks on Sunday, in front of which stretched long lines of cars waiting in thick pea mash.
More than 400,000 acres have gone to ash in Oregon, double what normally burns there each year, Oregon Governor Kate Brown said on CBS Sunday. About 500,000 inhabitants are subject to a more or less high level of evacuation order, and 40,000 people have effectively left their homes. “This should make us all aware that we must do everything in our power to fight against climate change”, she said.
Over two million hectares consumed
In California, the toll of the week rose to 14 victims of the blazes, including 12 in Butte County alone, still traumatized by the memory of the fires of November 2018 that had reduced the town of Paradise to ashes. Eight people had already died in the fires in August.
More than 16,000 firefighters fought no less than 29 serious fires Sunday in this state, where the fires have already charred 1.2 million hectares this year, a record. Adding to the burnt vegetation in Oregon and Washington State, forest fires have consumed more than two million hectares, while the fire season theoretically does not end until November.
And the smoke released affects huge areas. The cities of Portland, Seattle and San Francisco were among those with the highest pollution rates in the world on Sunday, according to the IQAir ranking. In Los Angeles, the mayor announced the establishment, in public places of the city, of centers aimed at “Relieve bad air quality”.
