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Trump says Camp Fire is 'total devastation,' but hasn't made him rethink climate change

The Camp Fire has charred 148,000, with containment at 55 percent on Saturday morning.

After surveying the damage Saturday from California's deadliest and most destructive fire ever, President Donald Trump said the "monster" Camp Fire in Butte County hasn't changed his mind about climate change.

“I think you have a lot of factors," Trump said of the fire's cause at its command center at Chico's Silver Dollar Fair grounds Saturday, adding that forest management "seems to be a very big problem.”

Asked specifically whether the fire had changed his mind on climate change, Trump replied: “No, no."

“I want to have a great climate, and I think we’re going to have forests that are really safe," he said.

Trump took off from Chico Municipal Airport Around 1:10 p.m., heading back to Beale Air Force Base to catch Air Force One.

Before, at the command center, the president walked over to a large map spread out on what appeared to be a makeshift table made out of two-by-fours and plywood.

“I don’t know what was going through their mind to make them make that decision,” a fire official said after the president noted how people abandoned their cars when the fast-moving fire swept through Paradise.

“We’re looking for hundreds of people right now, literally hundreds,” Trump said. “And hopefully that’s going to be a good conclusion, not a bad conclusion.”

'People are suffering'

On the ride to the command center, supporters and a few protesters lined the route. One held a sign that read, “Moron, we're in a drought.”

In the room where officials have been holding daily press conferences on the fire, Brown thanked Trump “for putting his focus and spotlight on probably the worst tragedy that California has ever seen.”

“People are really working hard. People are suffering. So many people from so many different places and backgrounds and services have pulled together,” Brown said.

Similarly, Trump said “the men and women who are fighting this fire are incredible."

When a reporter asked Brown what needed to happen, he said “What needs to be done is being done.”

The stop comes after Trump toured Paradise to see first-hand the aftermath of the fire this morning.

“We do have to do management, maintenance. We’ll be working also with environmental groups. I think everybody’s seen the light,” Trump said as he stood in the burn area with with Gov. Jerry Brown, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, Paradise Mayor Jody Jones and FEMA Director Brock Long. “Hopefully this is going to be the last one of these, because this was a really, really bad one.”

None wore masks, though ash was still lightly falling.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Doug LaMalfa were also there, but didn't walk with the group of five.

The group started at a decimated home where someone hung an American flag. While Trump and Jones interacted frequently, Newsom and Brown seemed to mostly avoid the president. Trump did give Brown a light slap on the back, at one point.

“Nobody would have ever thought this could happen," Trump said, calling the situation "very sad to see."

The president said they had been talking about forest management on the ride over.

“I think we’re all on the same path," he said. "We do have to do management.”

Trump spoke briefly in Skyway Villa Mobile Home and RV Park, standing next to a downed streetlamp and in front of a burnt structure. He thanked law enforcement and elected officials.

“I don’t think we’ll have this again to this extent,” Trump said.

'I hope he sees something'

Video footage of the tour showed Trump with his hands on his hips as he and the group slowly walked through what appeared to be burnt debris.

"The federal government is behind you; we’re all behind each other," Trump said there.

Trump also said victims "have the greatest people in the world" helping in the fire's aftermath.

"We'll get it taken care of," the president said, also saying "we want to take care of the people who have been so badly hurt."

That's what Casey and Ryan Belcher said they're hoping for as they rode out yet another day camped at the Chico Walmart after losing their Paradise home in the fire.

"I hope he helps us; I hope he sees what we're all going through," said Casey, 33. "I hope he sees what we're all going through and he feels our emotional pain."

The Belchers and their three children, ages 4 to 10, have been staying in tents and trucks since the fire broke out November 8. They've applied for FEMA aid, but are praying for housing in the meantime because they're worried about what all the smoke is doing to their children.

"I hope he sees something," Ryan, 30, said of Trump possibly meeting with evacuees. "The fact that we are not the ones to blame in this — why should we have to be the ones stuck with the hardship of it?"

It wasn't clear whether Trump did meet with any evacuees or people who lost their homes.

In a statement announcing his trip the White House said that "President Trump is committed to helping wildfire victims make a full recovery."

It all started at 9:50 a.m., when Air Force One touched down at Beale Air Force Base following an uneventful flight.

Talk of forest management dominates the day

By just after 10:30 a.m., Marine One had touched down at Chico Municipal. The president made no remarks as he emerged.

The motorcade immediately hit the road to destination unknown. Hundreds of people lined the streets to see it go by, about half with masks, nearly everyone with their phone out filming. Some had American flags and there were a few Trump signs. One group of silent protesters had two banners that mentioned “climate change” and the “apocalypse.”

LaMalfa came back to the press cabin shortly before landing to brief the media on the significance of forest management.

“The president wants to get something done on this,” LaMalfa said. “We need to be a lot more aggressive.”

LaMalfa dismissed criticism of the president’s earlier tweet on forest management as having more to do with its timing and politics than the substance of the argument. He said that forest management does not mean clear cutting but rather thinning and creating buffers around populated areas.

“Without forest management, things can go wrong,” he said.

Trump stepped out of the plane a few minutes after landing at Beale, where the sun was struggling to cut through the haze covering the base like a fog and the smell of smoke was strong. Brown and Newsom met Trump on the tarmac.

The president didn't make any remarks before boarding Marine One.

The White House said Trump had spoken to Brown and offered his full support as the fire still burns.

"Many more people are missing than anyone thought possible," the president said before leaving the White House. "I want to be with the firefighters and FEMA first responders."

The Camp Fire has charred 148,000, with containment at 55 percent on Saturday morning. It has destroyed 12,256 structures, including 9,700 residences.

The number of people unaccounted for since the Camp Fire rose to 1,011 as of Friday night, as the death toll from the state's deadliest wildfire also grew, reaching 71. But Sheriff Kory Honea cautioned that the list is made up of raw data, and likely contains duplicates.

Trump opened his comments during his California visit with talk of forest management, a topic, he said, that he also would address with Brown and Newsom.

"I’ve been saying that for a long time. It should have been a lot different situation. But the one thing is that everybody now knows that this is what we have to be doing, and there’s no question about it.

"It should have been done many years ago. But I think everybody’s on the right side. It’s a big issue, it’s a big issue, a very expensive issue, but very, very inexpensive when you compare it to even one of these horrible fires. And we’ll save a lot of lives.”

Trump was seen wearing a white shirt and dark windbreaker as he boarded Air Force One. Accompanying him on the trip are White House press secretary Sarah Sanders and social media director Dan Scavino.

Major disaster and emergency declarations signed by Trump will cover up to 75 percent of the state's costs for removing debris, providing transitional housing and more, according to the White House.

A public health emergency declared by the Department of Health and Human Services will let Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and their health-care providers meet their immediate health needs, officials said.

A historic visit

It was unlikely for the visit to be without controversy.

California lawmakers had criticized Trump last weekend for blaming the fires on "gross mismanagement of the forest," and initially threatening by tweet to withhold federal funds if the issue was not remedied.

In more recent days, Trump has been more supportive, offering prayers for the victims, praise for firefighters and emergency personnel, and pledges of federal help.

"We will do everything in our power to support and protect our fellow citizens in harm’s way," Trump said at the White House on Wednesday. "And we say, I think as a group – I can tell you as a group: God bless everybody. That’s a very tough situation."

California Professional Firefighters President Brian K. Rice said the president's visit with the victims is welcome.

Rice, who was critical of Trump last weekend over his tweet, said in a statement Thursday: "We ... appreciate what he’s done to expedite aid to the victims of this human tragedy.”

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