US President Donald Trump has arrived in California to survey the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state’s history.
The Camp Fire in northern California has killed at least 71 people.
More than 1,000 people are reported to be missing, although officials say that figure could fluctuate.
Speaking in the town of Paradise, Mr Trump praised the efforts of local law enforcement, politicians and the teams searching for survivors on the ground.
“Nobody could have thought this would ever happen,” Trump told reporters on Saturday.
“This is very sad to see. As far as the lives are concerned, nobody knows quite yet,” Trump said. “Right now we want to take care of the people who have been so badly hurt.”
Leaving for the trip, Mr Trump again focused on forest management as a cause of the blazes, a claim that has been disputed by experts.
“I don’t think we’ll have this again to this extent,” Mr Trump said at the scene on Saturday. “Hopefully this is going to be the last of these because this was a really, really bad one.”
On top of the Camp Fire, firefighters are also tackling several other blazes, including the Woolsey Fire near Los Angeles which has claimed at least three lives.
And adding to the misery, scores of people have become sick after outbreaks of the norovirus at shelters and the air quality in northern California has been rated the world’s worst.
Heavy rain is forecast next week that could douse the flames but also bring mudslides and floods on hillsides stripped of vegetation.