Queen Elizabeth extends support to Meghan's home state California as devastating wildfires rage on
Queen Elizabeth is offering her support to Meghan Markle's home state of California given the devastating wildfires which have caused a lot of damage and continue to blaze on.
On Friday, the Queen issued a statement where she offered her compassion to all those who were affected as a result of the deadly wildfire in California which is the home state of her granddaughter-in-law Meghan Markle. The statement read, "Prince Philip and I offer our deepest sympathies to the people of California, who continue to suffer from the devastating fires across the state."
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the victims, and to all those who have lost their homes and livelihoods. I pay tribute to the courage and dedication of the US emergency services and the volunteers that have provided support," the statement continued. The Queen's statement follows a rise in the death toll as a result of the horrible fires.
Camp Fire has been burning through an estimated 146,000 acres of land in Northen California. The deadly fire began on November 8 and as of this Friday, only half the fire has been contained. According to CalFire, the damage included the flattening of around 9,844 houses, 336 commercial buildings as well as 2,076 other buildings.
As reported by Mercury News, around 71 people have lost their lives in Camp Fire making this the deadliest fire in state history. Around 1,011 people are still reportedly missing.
Officials shared that the fire was likely to have been caused by high winds, low humidity, and dry vegetation which has resulted in it being able to move quickly through the state. However, President Donald Trump seems to have a slightly different perspective on the blazing wildfires and spoke to Fox News.
He shared that though climate change "maybe contributes a bit" the "big problem" has been the forest officials failing to rake leaves. He took to Twitter to share, "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."
Trump will be visiting Northen California over the weekend and will be accompanied by Gov. Jerry Brown and Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom. The President had also threatened to cut off federal payments to California but eventually approved a federal disaster declaration.
