(Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has sharply criticized California’s response to devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, on Saturday said he would most likely pay a visit to the area next week after his inauguration.
The fires have killed at least 27 people as of Friday and destroyed more than 10,000 structures in the residential enclaves of Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
“I will be (going), probably, at the end of the week,” Trump, a Republican who will be inaugurated on Monday, told NBC in an interview.
“I was going to go … yesterday but I thought it would be better if I went as president. It’s a little bit more appropriate, I suspect.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom last week invited Trump to visit the area, saying people should not “politicize human tragedy or spread disinformation from the sidelines”.
As the blaze raged, Trump demanded that Newsom, a Democrat, resign, claiming his policies caused a water shortages that hampered fire-fighting efforts. Newsom said the charges were groundless.
Trump also accused Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of incompetence and said President Joe Biden had left him no money in the Federal Emergency Management Agency budget.
The wildfires, which began on Jan. 7, spread quickly under dry conditions and extremely strong Santa Ana winds. Los Angeles officials told most evacuees on Thursday to stay away from their homes at least another week.
Estimates of the damage range anywhere from $20 billion to $45 billion. Rents have surged and uncertainty over insurance settlements has left some of the displaced in limbo.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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