Fire victims react to President Trump’s threat to pull FEMA funds
President Donald Trump is threatening to withhold Federal Emergency Management Agency money to help California cope with wildfires if the state doesn’t improve its forest management practices.
Trump tweeted Wednesday that California gets billions of dollars for fires that could have been prevented with better management. The state’s former top firefighter Ken Pimlott disagrees, saying last month that California leads the nation in clearing away dead trees and thinning areas to remove fuel for fires.
Trump tweeted that “unless they get their act together … I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money!”
The Cranston Fire torched over 13,000 acres in the San Jacinto mountains in July and August. Idyllwild sat near the epicenter of the blaze, bore a large brunt of the destruction, and still sits in a precarious situation due to flooding risk caused by the burn scar.
The prospect of pulled FEMA funds has residents up in arms.
“I’m a little bit angry. I do support a lot of the things that he’s trying to do,” said Idyllwild resident Susan Eades. “But this is crazy, this is crazy.”
In response, Representative Raul Ruiz had this to say:
“Thousands of families across California, including some I serve, have lost their homes, livelihood, or income in the wake of severe wildfires. It is disgusting that President Trump would target these families in his personal, political feud with the State of California. Our nation has always banded together in the wake of tragedy and it is a part of what makes our nation the greatest on the planet.”
November’s fire in the northern California town of Paradise was the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century, killing at least 85 people and destroying nearly 14,000 homes.
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