The Camp Fire, which has decimated northern California, has finally been contained.
"#CampFire [final] Pulga Road at Camp Creek Road near Jarbo Gap (Butte County) is now 100% contained at 153,336 acres," wrote the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection on its official Twitter page. "Unified Command: @CALFIRE_ButteCo, @ButteSheriff, Paradise Police Department, and the USFS."
Between when it started on Nov. 8 and the most recent reports on Sunday, the Camp Fire has taken 85 lives and left 271 people unaccounted for, according to NPR. Overall it destroyed 154,000 acres in northern California and became both the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the history of the state.
"13,972 residences, 528 commercial and 4,293 other buildings" were destroyed by the fire, according to the most recent incident update provided by the California authorities. It also noted that the cause of the fire was still under investigation but emphasized that the devastating blaze has been totally contained.
"The fireline that remained uncontained has now been contained, bringing containment to 100%. Fire suppression repair personnel continue conduct rehab where possible. Search and Rescue Crews, US&R Teams, and engine companies continue with search efforts," the website reports.
The wildfires became an unexpectedly political issue earlier this month when President Donald Trump posted tweets that seemed to blame California for the blazes.
"There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!" Trump tweeted on Nov. 10. On the following day, the president added that "with proper Forest Management, we can stop the devastation constantly going on in California. Get Smart!"
Last week Trump aroused further controversy with a tweet that implied the California wildfires could have been prevented if people had raked the forest floors.
"We’ve gotta take care of the floors, you know, the floors of the forest," Trump said. "It’s very important. You look at other countries where they do it differently and it’s a whole different story. I was with the president of Finland and he said, ‘We’re a forest nation.’ He called it a forest nation. And they spend a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things. And they don’t have any problem. And when it is, it’s a very small problem."
Trump has also repeatedly downplayed the role of man-made climate change in causing natural disasters like the wildfires, telling a reporter at one point that "a lot of factors" had contributed to the catastrophic Camp Fire, according to CNN.
Shares