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The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Sunday, November 18, 2018 3A
People fleeing wildfire-affected areas
too busy to welcome presidential visit
Trump tours scorched ruins as firefighters struggle to locate 1,011 people unaccounted for
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Photos by EVAN VUCCII Associated Press
People stand on the side of the road Saturday, Nov. 17,
holding an American flag as the motorcade of President
Donald Trump drives through Chico, Calif., on a visit to areas
affected by the wildfires.
BY SUDHIN THANAWALA
Associated Press
PARADISE, Calif. -
Some who fled a Northern
California town leveled by
the deadliest U.S. wildfire in
a century waved American
flags to welcome President
Donald Trump, who walked
among the scorched ruins
Saturday, but others said
they were focused on pack
ing up what little they had
left and getting to their next
temporary home.
California’s outgoing and
incoming governors joined
Trump as he surveyed the
devastation in the town of
Paradise, population 27,000,
and visited a firefighting
command center. Gov. Jerry
Brown and Gov.-elect Gavin
Newsom had welcomed
Trump’s visit, declaring it’s
time “to pull together for the
people of California.”
The tour came as fire
fighters raced to get ahead
of strong winds expected
overnight and authorities
struggled to locate 1,011 peo
ple who were unaccounted
for. Authorities stressed
that not all on the list are
believed missing, but the
death toll has risen daily,
standing at 71.
Those who lost their
homes or were looking for
loved ones were also busy
— some trying to pack up at
a makeshift camp next to a
Walmart in the city of Chico.
No one there appeared to
be paying close attention to
Trump’s visit, with evacu
ees saying they were told to
leave by Sunday.
Maggie Missere-Crowder
said if Trump came to the
Walmart, she would shake
his hand, but she otherwise
needed to focus on getting
her tent and plastic storage
boxes with food and other
items into her pickup truck.
Missere-Crowder, 61, and
her husband fled their home
in Magalia, a community
near Paradise that also was
devastated, and planned to
go to a shelter in Yuba City,
about an hour’s drive from
the Walmart.
She said she was angry
about Trump’s tweet two
days after the disaster blam
ing forest mismanagement
for the fire, a sentiment he
repeated just before his visit
and has stirred resentment
among survivors.
“Like we’ve done it on
purpose. It’s like a slap in
the face,” Missere-Crowder
said.
Still, she said that if she
met him, she would say,
“Think about what you’re
saying, because it takes
away from all the good stuff
you’re doing.”
The fire zone in Northern
California is to some extent
Trump country. He beat
Hillary Clinton by 4 percent
age points in Butte County
in 2016. That was on display
as people gathered on street
corners with Trump flags to
greet his motorcade.
June Busalacchi, 57, and
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President Donald Trump talks with from left, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, California Gov. Jerry
Brown, Paradise Mayor Jody Jones and FEMA Administrator Brock Long during a visit to a
neighborhood destroyed by the wildfires in Paradise, Calif.
her husband, Steve, 56, came
to a Federal Emergency
Management Agency assis
tance center at the Chico
Mall to see if some friends
they haven’t heard from
were there. The Trump vot
ers also hoped the president
would show up.
“He’s going to get these
guys, and no pun intended,
get a fire under them,” he
said, referring to state offi
cials in California. “They
need to protect people, not
just in big cities.”
Asked about Trump’s
insistence that forest man
agement was to blame for
the blaze, Steve Busalacchi
said comments like that are
how you motivate people to
address problems.
Ron Waterbury, who
lost his home in Paradise,
watched news about Trump’s
visit on a TV set outside a Red
Cross shelter in Chico.
“I think his visiting here
is just for show,” he said.
“I think he was talked into
coming here to make him
self look better than what
he is.”
The blaze that started
Nov. 8 destroyed more than
9,800 homes. Thousands of
personnel were battling the
blaze that covered about 230
square miles and was half
way contained, officials said.
Firefighters were racing
against time with winds up
to 40 mph and low humidity
expected Saturday night into
Sunday. Rain was forecast
for midweek, which could
help firefighters but also
complicate the challenging
search for remains.
The number of people
unaccounted for has grown
to more than 1,000. But Butte
County Sheriff Kory Honea
acknowledged that the list
was “dynamic” and could
easily contain duplicate
names and unreliable spell
ings of names.
The roster probably
includes some who fled the
blaze and do not realize they
have been reported missing,
he said.
“We are still receiving
calls. We’re still reviewing
emails,” Honea said Friday.
“This is a massive undertak
ing. We have hundreds and
hundreds of people working
on this.”
Gainesville native
Jeremy Rogerick
Stephens, son of
Sonya Stephens,
has passed the
Georgia Bar
Exam. Jeremy
was sworn in to
practice law by Judge Bonnie Oliver with his Grandfather,
a minister, holding the bible from which he preached
his first sermon. Jeremy is a former student of Flowery
Branch High School and attended Purdue University
and Rutgers Law School, where he was elected student
body president. He is the grandson of Roger and Shirley
Stephens, great-grandson of Ruby Brawner, and nephew
to Tonya Banks. He gives full credit to God for his
academic success.
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