President Trump threatened to pull federal funding from California in a tweet on Saturday for the state's "gross mismanagement of the forests," as the most destructive wildfire in the state's history ravages the region, demolishing homes and leaving multiple people dead.
There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. 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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018
The big picture: Trump says there's "no reason" for the fires, of which there were three, "except that forest management is so poor." Axios' Science Editor Andrew Freedman reported that the increased wildfire risk in California is due to a combination of longer-term climate change and population growth, and it's only going to get worse as climate change leads to longer dry seasons.
