President Trump on Wednesday threatened to pull FEMA wildfire relief funds from fire-stricken California if the state doesn’t “get their act together” on forest management. “Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forrest fires that, with proper Forrest Management, would never happen,” Trump wrote in a typo-laden tweet. “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!” As The Daily Beast previously reported, California’s wildfire costs for this year alone are expected to exceed a previous record of $12 billion. By only blaming forest management for California’s spate of deadly blazes this summer, the tweet flies in the face of climate science, which notes that global warming leads to an uptick in the hot, dry conditions that make wildfires more prevalent and more difficult to contain. It also contradicts the calls of policymakers and researchers who say the government is already running out of money to fight wildfires, and that pulling federal dollars—even if they’re just relief funds—will only make things worse.
Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forrest fires that, with proper Forrest 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!
