News / Politics

Trump has head 'in the sand' as wildfires rage: LA mayor

Monday, 14 September 2020 8:41 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 14 September 2020 8:55 AM ]

Sandra and Daniela Reyes comfort Isaias Reyes while visiting their damaged trailer home after the wildfires destroyed a neighborhood in Bear Creek, Phoenix, Oregon, US, September 10, 2020. (Reuters photo)

US President Donald Trump has been accused of being in denial about climate change as record wildfires have killed 35 people in West Coast states and displaced thousands of others so far.

Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said, "This is climate change, and this is an administration that's put its head in the sand."

This comes as Trump and his political rival Kamala Harris prepared to meet emergency workers in California.

Trump will meet with the heads of California's emergency services on Monday and Harris will also travel there to assess the damage and meet fire officials.

Harris, the Democratic vice presidential candidate tweeted that Trump "denied evidence" the flames were "fueled and intensified by the climate crisis."

Wildfire continues to destroy forests, buildings in northern Oregon

Burning tree trunks and destroyed buildings and structures can be seen in northern Oregon in the aftermath of the Marion County fire, as the state continues to fight dozens of blazes which have burned over 4 million acres of land.

For three weeks, fires have been raging in Oregon, California and Washington, burning land and destroying homes. Tens of thousands of people have had to flee the areas with the US National Weather Service issuing a "red flag warning" as high winds threaten to spread devastating fires still further.

Of the people killed due to the infernos since the beginning of summer, 27 died this week alone with dozens still missing on Sunday.

Trump has not talked much about the blazes in recent weeks, but at his campaign rally in Nevada on Saturday, he acknowledged the scope of the calamity.

"They never had anything like this," said the president, who systematically downplays global warming. "Please remember the words, very simple, forest management."

Garcetti responded to the comments by saying that "anybody that lives in California is insulted by that."

"Talk to a firefighter if you think that climate change isn't real... This isn't about forest management or raking."

In 2017, Trump pulled the United States out of the landmark 2015 global agreement to fight climate change, asserting US withdrawal "represents a reassertion of American sovereignty."

He said then that “the Paris accord is very unfair at the highest level to the United States.”

Firefighters trying to extinguish a fire, in Alpene, California on September 6. (Reuters photo)

Washington state Governor Jay Inslee also attacked Trump on ABC's "This Week," saying, "It's maddening right now we have this cosmic challenge to our communities, the entire West Coast of the United States on fire, to have a president to deny that these are not just wildfires, these are climate fires."

Meanwhile, Trump’s Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden is also slated to address the wildfires and their cause Monday.

He has recently described the threat of climate change as "undeniable" and "existential."

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