![\"Wildfires](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26018716608653-1769630880.jpg\")
The Eaton Fire burns structures on January 8, 2025, in Altadena, California [File: Ethan Swope\/AP Photo]<\/p>\nThey were among the most costly wildfires in United States history, ravaging the densely populated metropolis of Los Angeles in southern California.<\/p>\n
But almost a year after they were contained, the Eaton and Palisades fires are back in the headlines, as the administration of President Donald Trump seeks to wrest control of the rebuilding effort.<\/p>\n
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On Wednesday, at a speech in Washington, DC, Trump indicated he would appoint Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to take over the permitting process for home construction.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t told this to Lee Zeldin yet, but I\u2019m going to put you in charge of getting permits. I think we\u2019re going to override the local authorities,\u201d Trump told the EPA chief from the stage.<\/p>\n
But that push has reignited tensions with state and local Democrats in California, who accuse Trump of seeking to shift attention away from the lack of federal aid for recovery efforts.<\/p>\n
The southern California fires were the first major natural disaster to confront Trump\u2019s second term. Erupting in early January 2025, they tore through more than 38,000 acres (15,378 hectares), whipped by the dry, gusting Santa Ana winds.<\/p>\n
At least 16,000 buildings were destroyed. The official death toll placed the number of people killed at around 31, but academics at the University of Helsinki put the number of indirect deaths closer to 440, with people succumbing to conditions related to poor air quality, delayed medical care and mental health causes.<\/p>\n
The cost of the damage has been estimated at $65bn, with some figures putting the economic losses even higher.<\/p>\n
Critics have argued that the rebuilding process has been frustrating and slow. But politicians disagree over the cause.<\/p>\n
The Eaton Fire burns structures on January 8, 2025, in Altadena, California [File: Ethan Swope\/AP Photo]<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Trump issued an executive order<\/a> taking aim at the Democratic leaders who run California, including Governor Gavin Newsom, a likely contender for the presidency in 2028.<\/p>\n Accusing them of an \u201cabject failure to rebuild\u201d southern California, Trump announced he would be preempting state or local permitting processes. He also added that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would be investigating whether federal funds \u201cwere awarded arbitrarily, capriciously, or contrary to law\u201d.<\/p>\n Trump used his public appearance on Wednesday \u2014 organised to boost his child savings account programme \u2014 to double down on his attacks.<\/p>\n \u201cI went there a couple of days after the fire, met so many people on the streets. In many cases, they were fairly wealthy people, some very rich people. Some of the best houses in California burned down,\u201d Trump told his audience.<\/p>\n The Republican president, whose fortune derives from his family\u2019s real estate empire, proceeded to bemoan the slow pace of construction permitting, as well as California\u2019s tendency to lean Democratic.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a national emergency,\u201d Trump said. \u201cWhat they\u2019ve done to these people is horrible. It\u2019s just horrible. And they\u2019ll still vote Democrat. Can you believe it? After all, it\u2019s just they get used to it.\u201d<\/p>\n But Democratic leaders have fired back, questioning Trump\u2019s motives and authority.<\/p>\n Previously, the two sides have clashed over Trump\u2019s decision to send National Guard troops to southern California without Governor Newsom\u2019s permission, with Democrats arguing that Trump\u2019s efforts also represented an unconstitutional overreach of presidential authority.<\/p>\n In a statement to local media this week, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass emphasised her view that Trump had once again overstepped his bounds.<\/p>\n \u201cThe President has no authority over the local permitting process, but where he could actually be helpful is by providing the critical FEMA funding we have been asking for, by speeding up FEMA reimbursements, and by regulating the industries that he alone can impact,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n Bass added that Trump could also be helpful by pushing insurance companies to compensate homeowners for their losses, as well as by encouraging banks to offer mortgage forgiveness and no-interest loans to survivors.<\/p>\n Under Bass\u2019s leadership, in January 2025, the city of Los Angeles suspended requirements under the California Coastal Act and California Environmental Quality Act to help speed up reconstruction efforts.<\/p>\n The city also ordered an expedited permit review process that required qualifying reviews to be completed within 30 days of a submitted application.<\/p>\n![\"Gavin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26020477246343-1769630741.jpg\")
California Governor Gavin Newsom attends the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 20 [Markus Schreiber\/AP Photo]<\/p>\n