Donald Trump, a self-proclaimed “all-time expert” on wildfire prevention, grimly predicted Monday that in the aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfires, “many more” bodies will be found.
On Newsmax, the president-elect reacted to the series of fires that have wreaked havoc on the L.A. area since last week, saying he believed the fires were more destructive than if a nuclear weapon had been detonated.
“We’re going to do things with Los Angeles,” Trump told anchor Rob Schmitt over the phone. “You know, I’m already putting my developer cap on because it looks literally—I just saw some very guarded pictures of it, and it’s far worse than you even see on television, if that’s believable.”
Property damage and economic loss estimates, according to AccuWeather, have reached $275 billion. More than 12,000 structures have been destroyed. The current death toll is at least 24, and thousands have been displaced.
“I believe it’s greater damage than if they got hit by a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Vast miles and miles of houses just burned to a crisp. There’s nothing standing.”
“And they’re going to find many bodies, you know,” he continued. “Only the dogs will find them, right? You know, German Shepherds will. They can pick out the ashes immediately. It’s amazing. But we’re going to find many bodies and many more, many more dead.”
Trump then reiterated his argument that the wildfires arose in part due to the lack of raking the forest floor.
“If you look at the trees—even now I’m watching. I’ve become like an all-time expert at this,“ he claimed. ”And those trees, many of those trees just remain standing. What happens is when the tree falls down, it’s got 18 months before it becomes a matchstick. And you have to remove those trees because they’re literally—it’s like lighting a match."
“They don’t do that. And I said, ‘You have to maintain your forest,’” Trump went on, speaking about Gov. Gavin Newsom and other California leaders. “I learned from Austria, from the some of the countries [like Finland]. They said, ‘We are a forest nation.’”
Trump appeared to be referencing a 2018 meeting with then-Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, who later clarified that his forest service’s wildfire prevention strategy doesn’t involve raking, but controlled burns.