Biden Declares State of Emergency for California Wildfires... Visits Affected Areas

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] U.S. President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency in California, where a series of wildfires have occurred. President Biden plans to visit the wildfire-affected areas to assess the damage.

On the 12th (local time), the White House announced, "President Biden has declared a major disaster in California and announced federal support for recovery efforts at the local government level."

President Biden is scheduled to visit Sacramento, the capital of California, on the 13th to inspect the damage.

The White House added that additional visit locations may be added depending on the damage situation.

According to major foreign media, California has experienced 6,800 wildfires of various sizes this year, burning a record 1.7 million acres (6,879 km²).

President Biden has continuously emphasized the urgent passage of a $3.5 trillion social safety net expansion budget currently before Congress to address climate change.

In U.S. political circles, there is speculation that President Biden, who faced his greatest crisis since taking office due to chaos during the Afghanistan withdrawal, will focus on internal issues such as climate change and social safety net expansion with next year’s midterm elections in mind.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.