Ms Howard's daughter, Sharon Perry, said her family would "never get over what happened" and they were haunted by "thinking of the pain and terror she must have felt".

“Most of the population here is gone. They are not thinking of getting a gelato with their family. They’re not here anymore. Their homes are gone.”

“Yesika, the house is gone. I keep thinking of the love, care and hard work your mom put into that house and taking care of our family. I’ll never forget celebrating her citizenship there.”

Many now say it is time for the U.S. to stop relying on foreign help and thinking of firefighting as seasonal work.

Stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region gave up early gains after President Donald Trumpov said he is thinking of imposing new tariffs on Mexico and Canada.