Donald Trump has threatened to cut off federal emergency aid to California for forest fires.
Amidst the government shutdown, the US President said no more money would be sent to the state by the Federal Emergency Management Agency "unless they get their act together".
Writing on Twitter on Tuesday, he said: "Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for forest fires that, with proper forest management, would never happen.
"Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money."
Mr Trump has previously criticised Californian officials for poor forest management, despite the federal government being in charge of many of the state's forests.
It comes after German insurance company Munich Re announced that the wildfire in Paradise was the world's costliest single natural disaster in 2018.
The reinsurance giant said on Tuesday that the November fire, which killed dozens of people, caused overall losses of $16.5 billion. The company said some $12.5 billion in losses were insured.
The firestorm destroyed thousands of homes and other structures.
In November, the US President visited Paradise to see the devastation caused by the wildfire and help those affected.
Mr Trump was accompanied by then-Governor Elect Gavin Newsom, who has been vocal in his criticisms of the president after being sworn into office this week.
Responding to the president's threat on Tuesday, he posted on Twitter: "Mr. President -- Just yesterday, @OregonGovBrown, @GovInslee, and I sent a letter asking the federal government to work with us in taking on these unprecedented wildfires. We have been put in office by the voters to get things done, not to play games with lives.
"Disasters and recovery are no time for politics. I’m already taking action to modernize and manage our forests and emergency responses.
"The people of CA -- folks in Paradise -- should not be victims to partisan bickering."
