President Trump Threatens to Pull Federal Aid For California Wildfires
By R.J. Johnson - @rickerthewriter
November 4, 2019
President Donald Trump repeated his threats to cut off federal aid for wildfire relief for California in a series of tweets on Sunday, writing that he'd told Gov. Gavin Newsom that he "must "clean" his forest floors."
Trump lambasted California and Newsom for asking for aid to combat the wildfires raging across the state, writing, "Every year, as the fire’s rage & California burns, it is the same thing-and then he comes to the Federal Government for $$$ help. No more. Get your act together Governor. You don’t see close to the level of burn in other states."
Newsom appeared to dismiss Trump's threats, writing on Twitter that because Trump doesn't believe in Climate Change, he was "excused from this conversation." The governor's office also issued a release detailing the extensive efforts being taken by the state to prevent massive wildfires.
..Every year, as the fire’s rage & California burns, it is the same thing-and then he comes to the Federal Government for $$$ help. No more. Get your act together Governor. You don’t see close to the level of burn in other states...But our teams are working well together in.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 3, 2019
....putting these massive, and many, fires out. Great firefighters! Also, open up the ridiculously closed water lanes coming down from the North. Don’t pour it out into the Pacific Ocean. Should be done immediately. California desperately needs water, and you can have it now!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 3, 2019
The statement from the governor's office also noted that the Federal Government owns 57% of California's forest lands, with most of the rest under private ownership.
"You've got fires eating away at California every year because management is so bad," Trump told reporters on Sunday. "The governor doesn't know; he's like a child, he doesn't know what he's doing. And I've been telling them this for two years. They've got to take care of it. Every year it's always California, it's rarely somebody else or someplace else."
Both northern and southern parts of the state have been faced with extreme fire weather conditions in which strong winds, low humidity and drought-like conditions combine to fuel a series of wildfires across the state that have burned thousands of acres and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents.
Trump made similar threats around this time last year following the devastating Camp Fire in northern California that became one of the most destructive wildfires in the state's history.
Photo: Getty Images