Chris White | Energy Reporter
Senate Republicans are pushing back against comments President Donald Trump made suggesting the government would withhold funding for wildfire services if California didnt do more to prevent fires.
“I dont think its appropriate to threaten funding,” Republican Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner said Sunday on NBC. “Funding will be available.”
The senator was referring to a tweet Trump wrote holding California partially responsible for a recent uptick in wildfires.
“There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor,” the president tweeted Saturday morning. (RELATED: Heres Everything You Need To Know About Californias Wildfires)
Three major fires scorched over 200,000 acres, more than 300 square miles, mostly in Northern California since Thursday, according to Cal Fire. Firefighters have contained only 25 percent of the fires.
The Camp Fire, the largest of the three, burned 111,000 acres as it spread at break-neck pace due in part to dry conditions and fast-moving Santa Ana winds. The Woolsey Fire in the south has claimed two lives, while 29 more people died in the Camp Fire to the north.
Other Trump allies mirrored Gardners point. Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, for instance, told reporters Sunday that the priority is to give California the resources the states citizens need.
“California will receive the money they need,” Graham said. “But going forward, we need to look at some of the underlying causes of these fires, and its just not California we need to look at better forest management in.”
An employee of Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) digs to find an electrical transformer in a destroyed neighborhood after a wildfire tore through Santa Rosa, California, U.S., October 15, 2017. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart/File Photo
Firefighter fight fire near torching trees as wildfire burns near Yosemite National Park in this US Forest Service photo released on social media from California, U.S., August 6, 2018. Courtesy USFS/Yosemite National Park/Handout via REUTERS
Some of Trumps fiercest critics also dinged the president for not understanding the complexity of land management. Outgoing Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown told The Washington Post that more federal forest land has burned than state land. The California Democrat blames the fires on climate change.
State officials also criticized the federal government for hand-cuffing their ability to prevent wildfires.
“It is the federal government that has chosen to divert resources away from forest management, not California,” Brian Rice, president of the California Professional Firefighters, wrote in a statement following Trumps comments. (RELATED: Scientists Issue Absurd Doomsday Prediction, Warn Of A Hothouse Earth)
Forest fire experts, meanwhile, have consistently warned that allowing forests to grow unmolested would likely result in an increase in wildfires. Less logging requires more management of forests, they argue.
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Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].
Chris White | Energy Reporter
Senate Republicans are pushing back against comments President Donald Trump made suggesting the government would withhold funding for wildfire services if California didnt do more to prevent fires.
“I dont think its appropriate to threaten funding,” Republican Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner said Sunday on NBC. “Funding will be available.”
The senator was referring to a tweet Trump wrote holding California partially responsible for a recent uptick in wildfires.
“There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor,” the president tweeted Saturday morning. (RELATED: Heres Everything You Need To Know About Californias Wildfires)
Three major fires scorched over 200,000 acres, more than 300 square miles, mostly in Northern California since Thursday, according to Cal Fire. Firefighters have contained only 25 percent of the fires.
The Camp Fire, the largest of the three, burned 111,000 acres as it spread at break-neck pace due in part to dry conditions and fast-moving Santa Ana winds. The Woolsey Fire in the south has claimed two lives, while 29 more people died in the Camp Fire to the north.
Other Trump allies mirrored Gardners point. Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, for instance, told reporters Sunday that the priority is to give California the resources the states citizens need.
“California will receive the money they need,” Graham said. “But going forward, we need to look at some of the underlying causes of these fires, and its just not California we need to look at better forest management in.”
An employee of Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) digs to find an electrical transformer in a destroyed neighborhood after a wildfire tore through Santa Rosa, California, U.S., October 15, 2017. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart/File Photo
Firefighter fight fire near torching trees as wildfire burns near Yosemite National Park in this US Forest Service photo released on social media from California, U.S., August 6, 2018. Courtesy USFS/Yosemite National Park/Handout via REUTERS
Some of Trumps fiercest critics also dinged the president for not understanding the complexity of land management. Outgoing Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown told The Washington Post that more federal forest land has burned than state land. The California Democrat blames the fires on climate change.
State officials also criticized the federal government for hand-cuffing their ability to prevent wildfires.
“It is the federal government that has chosen to divert resources away from forest management, not California,” Brian Rice, president of the California Professional Firefighters, wrote in a statement following Trumps comments. (RELATED: Scientists Issue Absurd Doomsday Prediction, Warn Of A Hothouse Earth)
Forest fire experts, meanwhile, have consistently warned that allowing forests to grow unmolested would likely result in an increase in wildfires. Less logging requires more management of forests, they argue.
Follow Chris White on Facebook and Twitter
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].
