Trump Threatens California As Deadly Wildfires Burn

As three deadly wildfires ravage California, killing at least 11 people and forcing thousands to evacuate their homes, President Donald Trump on Saturday blamed poor forest management for the fires and threatened to cut federal funding to California.

Trump said via Twitter that "there is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly fires in California." He said "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!" It was unclear what specific federal payments the president was referring to.

Trump earlier issued an emergency declaration providing federal funds to help firefighters. He also issued two tweets later in the day expressing sympathy for those affected by the fires.

The Camp Fire burning in the northern part of the state has burned 100,000 acres and left nine people dead in the town of Paradise. In Southern California, a fire that started in Thousand Oaks has burned around 4,500 acres. The fire broke out on Thursday, the day the country awoke to the news that 12 people had been killed in a mass shooting at a bar in Thousand Oaks. Another two people were killed in the Woolsey Fire burning near Malibu. Some 200,000 people were forced to evacuate from Los Angeles and Ventura counties due to the fire.

Reacting to Trump's tweet, acting California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a tweet that it was not the time for partisanship but a time for coordinating relief and response and lifting up those in need.

Rep. Ted Lieu, a California Democrat, pointed out that federal agencies own a majority of the land in California while the state owns only 2 percent. Lieu also pointed out that Trump cut funding to forest management in the federal budget.

LeRoy Westerling, a scientist studying climate and wildifre at U.C. Merced, said that the president was not well-informed in his assertion. Westerling wrote that "warming and more variable precipitation from human-caused climate change are greatly increasing fire risks in California and throughout western North America."

Westerling told The San Francisco Chronicle that it was "ridiculous" for Trump to say it was all because of forest management.

In a statement, the California Professional Firefighters president Brian Rice said "the president’s message attacking California and threatening to withhold aid to the victims of the cataclysmic fires is Ill-informed, ill-timed and demeaning to those who are suffering as well as the men and women on the front lines."

Rice called the president's assertion that forest management policies are to blame for wildfires "dangerously wrong."

"Wildfires are sparked and spread not only in forested areas but in populated areas and open fields fueled by parched vegetation, high winds, low humidity and geography," Rice said.

He further noted that nearly 60 percent of California's forests are under federal control and it is the federal government that has chosen to divert resources from the state and not California.

SEE ALSO: How To Help Victims Of California Wildfires

Read Rice's full statement below:

"The president’s message attacking California and threatening to withhold aid to the victims of the cataclysmic fires is Ill-informed, ill-timed and demeaning to those who are suffering as well as the men and women on the front lines.

"At a time when our every effort should be focused on vanquishing the destructive fires and helping the victims, the president has chosen instead to issue an uninformed political threat aimed squarely at the innocent victims of these cataclysmic fires.

"At this moment, thousands of our brother and sister firefighters are putting their lives on the line to protect the lives and property of thousands. Some of them are doing so even as their own homes lay in ruins. In my view, this shameful attack on California is an attack on all our courageous men and women on the front lines.

"The president’s assertion that California’s forest management policies are to blame for catastrophic wildfire is dangerously wrong. Wildfires are sparked and spread not only in forested areas but in populated areas and open fields fueled by parched vegetation, high winds, low humidity and geography. Moreover, nearly 60 percent of California forests are under federal management, and another two-thirds under private control. It is the federal government that has chosen to divert resources away from forest management, not California.

"Natural disasters are not “red” or “blue” – they destroy regardless of party. Right now, families are in mourning, thousands have lost homes, and a quarter-million Americans have been forced to flee. At this desperate time, we would encourage the president to offer support in word and deed, instead of recrimination and blame."

In two tweets sent later in the day, Trump expressed sympathy for those affected by the fires and the firefighters. He also urged residents to listen to evacuation orders issued by state and local officials.

Trump is currently in Paris where canceled a planned visit Saturday to a cemetery for Americans killed in World War I. The White House cited bad weather that grounded his helicopter for the cancelation.

Trump had been scheduled to lay a wreath and observe a moment of silence at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial, located adjacent to Belleau Wood and about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of Paris. Attending in Trump's place were the White House chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly; the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Joe Dunford; and several members of the White House staff. The Battle of Belleau Wood was a critical conflict in the war and a pivotal encounter in Marine Corps history.

The cancellation of Saturday's visit drew criticism from those who say the president should have found a way to travel to Aisne-Marne regardless of the weather.

Reporting from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Photo: U.S President Donald Trump gestures outside the Elysee Palace after his talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, Saturday, Nov.10, 2018. Trump is joining other world leaders at centennial commemorations in Paris this weekend to mark the end of World War I. Photo by Thibault Camus/Associated Press