President Trump says forest mismanagement is to blame for wildfires
Sonoma Valley firefighters inspect burned out cars to make sure they are clear of human remains following a fire through a neighborhood, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, in Paradise, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — President Donald Trump is threatening to withhold federal payments to California, claiming its forest management is “so poor.”
Trump says Saturday via Twiitter that “there is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly fires in California.” Trump says “billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!”
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The comments were Trump’s first about massive wildfires, including a blaze that incinerated most of the Northern California town of Paradise and killed at least nine people.
Wildfires also raged in Southern California, including the town of Thousand Oaks, where a gunman days earlier killed a dozen people at a local bar.
Trump earlier issued an emergency declaration providing federal funds to help firefighters.
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