Sept. 13 (UPI) — President Donald Trump plans to visit California on Monday to meet with Gov. Gavin Newsom and emergency response officials for a briefing on wildfires that have torn through the state since mid-August, according to a White House official.
“Since mid-August, President Trump and Governor Newsom have spoken by phone and the White House and FEMA have remained in constant contact with State and local officials throughout the response to these natural disasters,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in an email to Politico. “The President continues to support those who are battling raging wildfires in a locally-executed, state-managed, and federally-supported emergency response.”
Trump was already set to visit Minden, Nevada, for a rally Saturday.
He had planned to visit Reno, but the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority rejected the plan, because the 5,000-plus expected visitors would violate the state’s and local county’s directives on public gatherings.
According to Deere, the meeting will take place at McClellan Park, a former Air Force Base near Sacramento.
Fires have burned across California since mid-August and have broken out in mid-September in parts of the Northwest best known for heavy rainfall and cool temperatures.
Deere also noted that Trump has approved a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for California that began Aug. 14 and he mentioned Trump’s 2018 visit to California following a series of fires that year.
“The Administration has also approved 10 Fire Management Assistance Grants and 24 grants for other western states, which provides a 75% Federal cost share for the mitigation, management, and control of fires,” Deere wrote. “More than 26,000 federal personnel and 230 helicopters have been deployed to the region to fight these fires.”
The White House also said 24 fire management grants have been approved since mid-August for Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
