Just hours after President Trump issued an emergency declaration to provide funds to help firefighters in California as they battle at least three major wildfires across the state, the president threatened to withhold the federal payments -- citing the state's "gross mismanagement" of its forests.
Tweeting from Paris early Saturday, Trump wrote that “there is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly fires in California.” He added that “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!”
His comments were his first regarding the wildfires that ravaged the state. They include the Camp Fire in Northern California, which has destroyed nearly 6,500 homes and killed at least nine people, and the Woolsey Fire in Southern California, which has killed at least two people.
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E), the utility company that provides much of the state with natural gas and electricity, told state regulators Friday that it would cooperate with investigators into the cause of wildfire - dubbed the Camp Fire - in the northern part of the state.
The company said one of its electrical transmission lines in Butte County experienced a problem at 6:15 a.m. Thursday, where Cal Fire (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) officials said the blaze began several minutes later.
The president's declaration of an emergency in the state would allow the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate disaster relief efforts with state officials, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“This action will help alleviate the hardship and suffering that the emergency may inflict on the local population,” a White House release said.
The help will attempt to “avert the threat of a catastrophe” across six California counties -- Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Butte.
FEMA installed Mark Armstrong as the coordinator for federal assistance for the fires.
The announcement came as Trump arrived in Paris on Friday for events marking the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I.
The fierce wildfires have raged throughout the state this week. In the southern part of the state, Santa Ana winds were fanning two major wildfires.
The Woolsey Fire had grown to more than 35,000 acres and at least 75,000 homes were under evacuation orders, including the entire city of Malibu, which is home to some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
The Hill Fire near Thousand Oaks began Thursday, the day after a gunman killed 12 people at a local bar.
In total, around 250,000 people in Southern California were forced from their homes.
No comments:
Post a Comment