Trump cited the disasters during his inauguration speech Monday as examples of an insufficient federal response to communities in need.

President Trump is taking the first trip of his term on Friday to North Carolina and California, visiting communities grappling with recovery from natural disasters.

As wildfires raged across Los Angeles, killing at least 24 people and destroying thousands of structures, some people sought to contrast emergency response to the fires to disaster response that followed deadly hurricanes that battered the southeastern U.

Frederick and Frances Caple, originally from the Carolinas, spent 58 years calling Altadena, California, home. That is, until January 7th, when wildfires forced them to leave everything behind.

The president raised the possibility of withholding aid to California unless the state changes its water policy.

Donald and Melania Trump will stop in North Carolina, California and Nevada during the first trip of his second term. Follow along for live updates.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is heading to hurricane-battered western North Carolina and wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles on Friday, using the first trip of his second administration to tour areas where politics has clouded the response to deadly disasters.

NORTH CAROLINA, USA — Wildfires have destroyed thousands of homes across Los Angeles and Southern California. Many residents are now faced with how to move forward. Federal, state, and local agencies, along with various organizations, are actively assisting those affected by the wildfires.

President Donald Trump is hitting the road for the first time since his second inauguration, visiting victims of Hurricane Helene and the California wildfires. He has criticized the government's response to both disasters.

With parts of Los Angeles County still smoldering from wildfires, the expected rain this weekend would seem like a welcome relief. But how the rain falls could make the difference between a disaster respite or a disaster repeat.

The Old Farmer's Almanac, which has been in business since 1792, recently released its spring weather forecast. The outlook? "Warmer-than-normal temperatures for most of the country, with a few exceptions: southern and central California, Desert Southwest, southern Florida, and western Ohio Valley, where it will be near to below normal."

North Carolina is another state prone to hurricanes—and in fact Hurricane Helene last fall triggered a Biden administration recovery effort led by Deanne Criswell, the impeccably qualified and unanimously confirmed director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. There were no conditions attached, but here are two that would have been nice.