Trump Declares State of Emergency in California Amid Devastating Wildfire

The move authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate all disaster relief efforts and support state authorities in coping with the wildfires.

"Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that an emergency exists in the State of California and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from wildfires beginning on November 8, 2018, and continuing," the White House said in a statement late on Friday as the death toll in the fires rose to nine people.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper called the Camp Fire the most destructive wildfire in California's history. According to the outlet, the flames have covered over 90,000 acres of land.