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New fires erupt in southern California ahead of Trump visit

Seher Asaf
BBC News
Watch: Air National Guard brought in to tackle the Hughes Fire

Five new fires have erupted in southern California ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to the state.

The blazes - named Laguna, Sepulveda, Gibbel, Gilman and Border 2 - flared up on Thursday in the counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura and Riverside.

Firefighters have made progress in bringing the 10,000-acre Hughes Fire in Los Angeles under control, containing it by 36% since it broke out on Wednesday.

Fires have devastated the US state over the last few weeks, with the Palisades and Eaton fires scorching a combined total of more than 37,000 acres and killing at least 28 people.

This is the current state of the fires, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire):

  • The Border 2 fire in San Diego spans 800 acres. Evacuation orders are currently in place
  • The Laguna blaze in Ventura covers 94 acres and 70% of it has been brought under control
  • The Sepulveda fire in Los Angeles spans 45 acres and is 60% contained. In an update posted on X, the Los Angeles Fire Department said they had stopped the blaze from spreading and evacuation orders had been lifted
  • The Gibbel fire erupted in Riverside County, covering 15 acres. Fire crews have managed to stop the fire from progressing
  • A bush fire dubbed Gilman in San Diego covers two acres, but the blaze's progress has been stopped

Trump is set to visit Los Angeles on Friday to examine the wildfire damage, days after his inauguration.

He has been critical of the response to the fires, threatening to withhold federal assistance if California fails to alter the way it manages water supplies.

Trump has pointed the finger of blame at California Governor Gavin Newsom and repeatedly made claims that the state had water issues because it diverted supplies to save a small fish called a smelt.

When asked by US media if he would cut off funding to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), Trump said: "I might have to do that. Sometimes that's the only thing you can do. California's a great example of it.

"If you actually poll the people, they don't want sanctuary cities, but Gavin Newsom does. And these radical left politicians do."

Brian Rice, the president of the California Professional Firefighters, told the BBC that he hopes Trump does not deny the state federal aid.

"The most important focus we have is getting federal aid into California, into these communities where people have lost their lives, their homes," he said.

"In the history of this country, federal disaster aid has never been tied to if you do this, you get that. This is the discussion that's going on, it's never happened."

Governor Newsom on Thursday announced a $2.5bn (£2bn) state-level aid package to deal with the fire damage.

The Hughes fire - the third largest blaze in the state after the Palisades and Eaton fires - forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate after it broke out on Wednesday.

According to Cal Fire, crews managed to make progress in containing the fast-moving blaze on Thursday.

Los Angeles is under an elevated fire risk area today with brisk winds, according to BBC Weather.

Rain is expected over the weekend in the county, as well as snow up in the mountains of southern California.

However, while this will aid firefighting efforts, there are concerns that it could also cause flooding and dislodge debris from the fires, creating mudslides.

Specialist crews have been working to try and secure burned areas, while sandbags and other flood prevention supplies have been handed out to locals so that they can protect their properties.

Twenty-three people died in 2018 when mudslides hit the California town of Montecito, one of the areas that had recently been affected by the Thomas Fire.