A Los Angeles County fire chief helping direct efforts to fight deadly California wildfires on Monday called it “hurtful” that President Donald Trump has blamed the massive blazes on “gross mismanagement.”
At a news conference, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby pushed back at the president’s controversial finger-pointing — and threat to withhold federal funds, NBC News reported.
“We are in extreme climate change right now,” Osby said. “We don’t control the climate. We are doing all that we can to prevent incidents, and mitigate incidents and save lives.”
Osby said he didn’t want to “politicize” the fires while efforts were underway to keep everyone in the state safe.
“I personally find that statement unsatisfactory, and it’s very hurtful for all first responders that are putting their lives on the line to protect lives and property,” Osby said.
Trump's first comments about the massive wildfires came hours after he declared a state of emergency for California, allowing federal assistance to supplement local response as three major wildfires burn across the state.
On Monday, amid a flurry of tweets, Trump gave his praise to California firefighters and first responders.
The wildfire had claimed at least 31 lives as of Monday.
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