California's biggest fire this year forces evacuations as Trump slashes federal disaster response funding
The 'Madre Fire' broke out on Wednesday in San Luis Obispo, a rural county in the heart of the US state. Around 200 people were ordered to evacuate, with dozens of buildings threatened by the flames.
It is the largest blaze so far this year in California, which was scarred by wildfires that destroyed swaths of Los Angeles at the start of the year.
The fire has spread quickly: in 24 hours, it has ravaged over 52,000 acres (21,000 hectares), according to the state's fire service Cal Fire.
Images from the state warning system showed thick columns of black smoke overhanging mountains in the hilly, remote region.
'The state will always show up to protect all communities—no matter where a fire begins,' California Governor Gavin Newsom said on X, announcing the deployment of reinforcements.
The 'Madre Fire' comes at the heel of several other blazes, raising fears of a difficult summer ahead for the state already traumatized by the wildfires that killed 30 people in January.
It was an unusually dry winter and spring in southern California, and vegetation is already parched, noted UCLA extreme climate events specialist Daniel Swain in a blog post.
'Given the expectation of even more intense and widespread heat later this summer, that extra month or two of vegetation drying will heavily factor into burning conditions later this season,' said Swain.
It is the first summer season since Trump ordered budget and personnel cuts at the Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and FEMA, the federal agency which coordinates disaster response.
On Wednesday, Newsom accused Trump of not funding enough wildfire prevention projects.
'We need an equivalent commitment of resources — not rhetoric,' Newsom said at a press conference, reminding that '57 percent of the land in this state is under the jurisdiction of the federal government.' — AFP
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