US president criticizes handling of disaster, calling it unprecedented and chaotic
US President Donald Trump described the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires as an unprecedented disaster and criticized the official response, saying it made the US look “so weak.”
“This fire was just raging, and then it would catch to another area, another area, another area. There was nothing,” Trump told Fox News, a friendly outlet for the president, in an interview aired late Wednesday.
Pointing to the chaos and rapid spread of the flames, he said: “It took a week-and-a-half (to bring some fires under partial control), and I've never seen anything like it.”
“It looked like our country was helpless,” he said.
He voiced frustration with the perceived lack of preparedness, saying: “We look so weak.”
Saying that some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals lost their homes, he stressed the widespread impact of the disaster.
The Los Angeles wildfires have caused an estimated hundreds of billions of dollars in economic damage, destroying homes and forcing evacuations across the region.
Trump's comments reflect concerns over the US' ability to handle large-scale natural disasters and the need for improved disaster management strategies.
Authorities besides Trump have also pointed to the role of global warming in causing the devastating wildfires.
