Trump threatens to withhold federal payments to California because it’s forest management is ‘so poor’ as the state is ravaged by unrelenting wildfires
- In a 2am tweet, Trump wrote: ‘There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor’
- He said of the ‘gross mismanagement’: ‘Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!’
- The comments were Trump’s first about wildfires ravaging thousands of acres
- On Friday the president issued an emergency declaration providing federal funds to help firefighters
- Nine have been killed and 35 are missing in the Camp Fire in Butte County
- In Southern California, the Hill Fire and Woolsey Fire have already scorched more than 40,000 acres and forced more than 250,000 residents to evacuate
President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold federal payments to California over ‘gross mismanagement’ of its forests as the state is ravaged by three massive wildfires.
In a 2am tweet, Trump wrote: ‘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!’
On Friday evening Trump issued an emergency declaration providing federal funds to help the thousands of firefighters struggling to contain the flames that have already torched more than 200 square miles across the state.
President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal payments to California over ‘gross mismanagement’ of its forests in a 2am tweet as the state is ravaged by three massive wildfires
On Friday evening Trump issued an emergency declaration providing federal funds to help the thousands of firefighters working tirelessly to contain the flames
The late night tweet was Trump’s first direst comment about massive wildfires, which include a blaze that incinerated most of the Northern California town of Paradise and killed at least nine people.
The Camp Fire in Butte County north of Sacramento was only five percent contained as of 1.30am local time Saturday.
In Southern California, the Hill and Woolsey fires have already scorched more than 40,000 acres, forcing more than 250,000 residents near Ventura and Los Angeles counties to evacuate.
Those fires, which remain at zero percent contained as of Saturday morning, descended on the town of Thousand Oaks from both sides, threatening the community still reeling from a mass shooting that left a dozen dead at a local bar Wednesday night.
This map shows the three major fires ravaging California, two in the south and one in the north
Trump warned that if California doesn’t remedy its ‘gross mismanagement of the forests’, there will be ‘no more Fed payments!’ to the state. He is pictured on Saturday in Paris