As research continues in the rubble of houses destroyed by the fire in the northern California town of Paradise, Donald Trump arrived Saturday. At least 71 people died on November 8 in the city, 280 km north of San Francisco, United States.

Heavy smoke, ruined houses, burnt cars: a tragedy awaited Donald Trump on Saturday when he arrived in Paradise, a small town almost totally destroyed by the deadliest fire in California's history.

The serious face under his camouflage cap "USA", the US president, who was not wearing a mask despite the thick smoke still enveloping the region, noted the extent of the damage alongside the mayor of Paradise, Jody Jones.

"It's very sad to see," he said after spending about 20 minutes in a mobile home camp, where only an American flag brought a touch of color in the middle of the ashes.

"With regard to the death toll, no one really knows at this point, there are a lot of people missing," he added.

60,000 hectares ravaged

Camp Fire ravaged nearly 60,000 hectares in northern California. The fire left 71 dead and over 1,000 people still missing.

Asked if the visit had changed his position on climate change, the US president said, "No, no, I have a decided opinion. I want a great climate and we will have it . "

The 45th President of the United States has repeatedly openly questioned, in defiance of scientific consensus, the impact of human activities on climate change underway.

In the south of the state, near Los Angeles, the "Woolsey Fire" burned nearly 40,000 hectares, including some of the famous Malibu seaside resort. He killed at least three people.

Nearly 9,000 firefighters are deployed on the two fires, resulting in the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents, many of whom have not yet been allowed to return to their homes.

Most of the search for missing persons takes place in Paradise, where many retirees lived and failed to flee in time.

Visible at more than 200 km

From the first days of the deadly fire, Mr. Trump denounced the mismanagement of forests by the authorities of the "Golden State" , forgetting that these are in majority under the control of the federal State. He also threatened to cut federal funding, while Congress spent $ 2 billion on firefighting for fiscal year 2018.

Saturday, just before his departure, he has once again hit the nail: "We will need different management, I say that for a long time . " Global warming has "perhaps contributed a little" to the rapid rise of flames, but "the biggest problem is management," he said the day before on Fox News.

California is on all fronts against the Republican billionaire, from immigration to the environment, through the regulation of firearms. The most populous state in the United States is also the country with the most immigrants and undocumented immigrants, largely targeted by presidential politics.

The impact of Camp Fire is visible more than 200 km south of Paradise, as far as San Francisco, where the authorities on Friday issued a pollution alert, with the air quality index reaching level of cities like Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Public schools were closed on Friday, and the Golden Gate Bridge was shrouded in heavy fog.

"It's very bad," says a resident of the city, Melvin Karsenti. "There is this permanent cloud on the city. The air seems thicker. I have never seen so many people wearing masks . "

Further south, the "Woolsey Fire" was about 80% and firefighters hoped to extinguish it by Monday.

The investigation continues to find out the origin of the two fires. A complaint was lodged against local electricity supplier Pacific Gas & Electric (PG & E), who reported on a high-voltage line incident just before the fire broke out in Paradise.

California, a victim of chronic drought for several years, has experienced several major fires in a year, which have killed more than 100 people and burned hundreds of thousands of hectares.