Biden affirms that the federal government will “cover 100%” of expenses “to protect lives and property” in California for six months
MADRID, 10 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The US authorities have reported this Wednesday that the number of fatalities has risen to ten due to the uncontrolled fires that are destroying entire neighborhoods in the city of Los Angeles, in the state of California.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Department has notified through a statement published on its website that it has received as of 9:00 p.m. (local time, 6:00 a.m. Spanish peninsular time) ten deaths related to the fires.
“All cases are pending identification and notification of the next of kin. (…) Identification may take several weeks, since the Department of Forensic Medicine cannot go to all places of death due to the conditions of the fire and security issues,” reads the text.
Likewise, he has warned that “traditional means of identification”, such as fingerprints and visual identification, “may not be available”, due to the fact that some bodies are charred. “This will mean more time when it comes to identifying the deceased,” he acknowledged.
“The Department of Medical Examiner understands how important it is to identify those lost in the wildfires and is working diligently, following safety protocols, to provide information to next of kin as soon as reasonably possible,” he said.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL COVER EXPENSES FOR SIX MONTHS
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, who has held phone calls with the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, and other senior officials to analyze the latest news about the fires, has announced that the Government The federal government “will cover one hundred percent of the cost of measures to protect lives and property in Southern California for six months.”
“I have told the governor and officials not to skimp on expenses and do whatever is necessary to contain the fires and protect families,” he confirmed through his profile on the social network X. Newsom has reacted to this measure remarking that Biden “has been there for California” from “the very moment the flames broke out.”
The governor has been “deeply grateful for the president’s continued support and commitment to help contain these wildfires and provide Californians with the resources they need.”
On the other hand, the sheriff of Los Angeles, Robert Luna, has stated that it seems as if “an atomic bomb had fallen” in the affected areas, while the fire continues to devastate several Californian neighborhoods. Furthermore, he has acknowledged that “he is praying” that the number of deaths does not increase, since based on the “clear devastation he does not expect good news.”
During firefighting efforts, a Firefighters aircraft collided with a drone flying in restricted airspace over the Palisades fire, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which has indicated that the collision is under investigation and that the plane has landed without problems.