President Donald Trump approved Gov. Jerry Brown’s request to classify California’s massive wildfires as a major disaster Monday.
The declaration will help residents of Butte, Ventura and Los Angeles counties get additional resources such as air quality control, shelter, water and transportation from federal agencies.
Victims of the fire will also be able to receive more crisis counseling and housing help.
Over 40 people have been killed by fires raging in both Northern and Southern California. The Camp fire in Northern California is being called the deadliest in the state’s history. Ninety percent of the homes and buildings in one town, Paradise, were destroyed.
Meanwhile, the Woolsey fire in Southern California has threatened about 57,000 homes in Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills, Simi Valley, Hidden Hills, Malibu and Calabasas, according to CalFire, the statewide firefighting agency.
The declaration comes two days after Trump tweeted the wildfires were caused by inefficient forest management. Many government officials, celebrities and citizens were outraged by Trump blaming the state instead of climate change.
Brown’s spokesman, Evan Westrup, replied to the tweet in a statement focusing on the efforts of first responders.
“Our focus is on the Californians impacted by these fires and the first responders and firefighters working around the clock to save lives and property — not on the president’s inane, uninformed tweets,” he said.