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Page 10A NATION/WORLD East Oregonian Saturday, November 17, 2018 Trump revives criticism over fires ahead of CA visit Death toll rises to 63 with hundreds still missing By KATHLEEN RONAYNE AND SUDHIN THANAWALA Associated Press CHICO, Calif. — With the confirmed death toll at 63, authorities in North- ern California on Friday searched for those who per- ished and those who sur- vived the fiercest of wild- fires ahead of a planned visit by President Donald Trump. The president on Satur- day is expected to get a look at the grief and damage caused by the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century, and he could face resentment from locals for blaming the inferno on poor forest man- agement in California. In an interview taped Friday and scheduled for broadcast on “Fox News Sunday,” Trump said he was surprised to see images of firefighters removing dried brush near a fire, adding, “This should have been all raked out.” As the search for bod- ies continued, Butte County spokeswoman Miranda Bowersox said the “unac- counted for” list of more than 600 names released AP Photo/John Loch A search and rescue dog searches for human remains at the Camp Fire on Friday in Paradise, Calif. by the sheriff’s office late Thursday was an effort to put names out there so peo- ple can call in to say they are OK. The roster probably includes some who fled the blaze and do not realize they’ve been reported miss- ing, Sheriff Kory Honea said. Some on the list have been confirmed as dead by family and friends on social media. Others have been located and are safe, but authorities haven’t gotten around to marking them as found. Tamara Conry said she should never have been on the list. “My husband and I are not missing and never were!” Conry wrote Thurs- day night on Facebook. “We have no family looking for us. ... I called and left a mes- sage to take our names off.” Authorities compiled the list by going back to lis- ten to all the dispatch calls they received since the fire started, to make sure they didn’t miss anyone. In last year’s catastrophic wildfires in California wine country, Sonoma County authorities at one point listed more than 2,000 peo- ple as missing. But they slowly whittled down the number. In the end, 44 peo- ple died in several counties. The wildfire this time all but razed the town of Para- dise, population 27,000, and heavily damaged the outly- ing communities of Maga- lia and Concow on Nov. 8, destroying 9,700 houses and 144 apartment build- ings, authorities said. Firefighters were gain- ing ground against the blaze, which blackened 222 square miles. It was 45 per- cent contained and posed no immediate threat to popu- lated areas. Crews managed to stop it from spreading toward Oroville, population 19,000. This patch of Califor- nia, a former Gold Rush region in the Sierra Nevada foothills, is to some extent Trump country, with Trump beating Hillary Clinton in Butte County by 4 percent- age points in 2016. But some survivors resent that Trump took to Twitter two days after the disaster to blame the wild- fires on poor forest misman- agement. He threatened to withhold federal payments from California. “If you insult people, then you go visit them, how do you think you’re going to be accepted? You’re not going to have a parade,” Maggie Crowder of Maga- lia said Thursday out- side an informal shelter at a Walmart parking lot in Chico. But Stacy Lazzarino, who voted for Trump, said it would be good for the pres- ident to see the devastation up close: “I think by maybe seeing it he’s going to be like ‘Oh, my goodness,’ and it might start opening peo- ple’s eyes.” In his Fox News inter- view on the eve of his visit, the president repeated his criticism. Asked if he thought climate change con- tributed to the fires, he said, “Maybe it contributes a lit- tle bit. The big problem we have is management.” Nick Shawkey, a captain with the state fire agency, said the president’s tweet blaming poor forest man- agement was based on a “misunderstanding.” The federal government man- ages 46 percent of land in California. “The thing he’s tweet- ing about is his property,” Shawkey said. California’s outgoing and incoming governors said they would join Trump on Saturday. Democrats Gov. Jerry Brown and governor-elect Gavin Newsom said they welcomed the president’s visit and “now is a time to pull together for the people of California.” Brown and Newsom have been vocal critics of Trump. Trump says he’s ‘very easily’ answered Mueller questions By JONATHAN LEMIRE AND CATHERINE LUCEY Associated Press WASHINGTON — Pres- ident Donald Trump said Friday he had “very easily” answered written questions from special counsel Rob- ert Mueller, though he spec- ulated that the questions had been “tricked up” to try to catch him in a lie. He said he hadn’t submitted his answers to investigators yet. “You have to always be careful when you answer questions with people that probably have bad inten- tions,” Trump told report- ers in his latest swipe at the probe into 2016 election interference and possible ties between Moscow and the president’s campaign. The president did not say when he would turn over the answers to Mueller, but his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, indicated it could hap- pen next week. The special counsel has signaled a will- ingness to accept written answers on matters related to collusion with Russia. But Giuliani has said repeat- edly the president would not answer Mueller’s questions on possible obstruction of justice. During months of back- and-forth negotiations with the special counsel office, Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly counseled the president against sit- ting down for an in-person interview. Trump’s written response, though not yet delivered, signals a new phase in the Mueller probe, the year- and-a-half-long investiga- tion that has produced guilty pleas and convictions from several top Trump aides even as the special counsel and the White House have engaged in lengthy negotia- tions about how — or if — the president would testify. Though he spent hours with his attorneys, Trump insisted: “My lawyers don’t write answers, I write answers.” The president’s remarks were fresh evidence of his return to the ominous rhythms of the Russia probe after spending heady weeks enjoying adulation-soaked campaign rallies before the midterm elections. Despite Trump’s insis- tence Friday that he’s “very happy” with how things are the Mueller investigation are a total mess,” Trump tweeted Thursday as part of a series of morning posts. The investigators don’t care “how many lives they can ruin,” he wrote. A day later, he tried to put a rosier shine on the situa- tion, telling reporters: “I’m sure it will be just fine.” The president continued to maintain his innocence while launching new broad- sides at the probe. He denied being “agitated” despite his outbursts the day before. going, his frustrations with the ongoing probe have been evident everywhere from his overheated Twit- ter feed this week to his pri- vate grousing that the spe- cial counsel may target his family. Adding to his grim out- look has been the barrage of criticism he’s getting over his choice for acting attor- ney general and late-arriv- ing election results that have largely been tipping toward House Democrats. “The inner workings of TAKE ADVANTAGE OF BLACK FRIDAY OFFERS NOW! Give yourself the gift of better hearing for the holidays 9 Different 2018 TOYOTA Models % APR 0 36 mos. $ 3,000 Cash Back Also Includes; Camry Hybrid, RAV4 Hybrid, Sienna, Prius LB, Prius C, and Yaris iA 2018 Excludes TRD Pro Introducing Oticon Opn ™ Finally there’s a hearing device that lets you hear what you want to hear, even in the most complex listening environments like a large holiday event. It’s Oticon Opn. 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