| You phrased this poorly, but it's a worthwhile discussion to have. People recall Trump as having said something about "forest management" as contributing to the California wildfires. That part is strictly true! The actual wording of his claims though, weren't for prescribed burns but rather [1]: > "I said, you gotta clean your floors, you gotta clean your forests — there are many, many years of leaves and broken trees and they’re like, like, so flammable, you touch them and it goes up." That quote could be read in good faith to include prescribed burns, because it's not explicitly saying how to "clean" the forests. The article goes on though: > Trump’s suggestions have prompted head-scratching from experts who say his prescriptions — more raking, less water released into the ocean for environmental purposes — suggest he does not understand the science of wildfires. Critics also point out that most of California’s wildlands are federally managed. And re: the Paradise fires: > Back then, he pointed to Finland, claiming its leader said the European “forest nation” had “spent a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things. And they don’t have any problem.”. > Finnish President Sauli Niinistö later said he told Trump that Finland takes care of its forests but did not say anything about raking. So he wasn't wrong that forest management matters. But he wasn't supporting controlled burns either. The combination of his control over federal forest land and this quote: > “Maybe we’re just going to have to make them pay for it because they don’t listen to us,” he added. is what rankled people. Finally, while forest management contributed to the California wildfires of the last 5 years, PG&E's mismanagement of power lines and power line maintenance played a large role as well. Either way, having people rake the leaves wouldn't have done much :). [1] https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/08/20/... |