'This could have been a lot different': Trump DOUBLES DOWN on blaming forest management for Californ

[mystery-ak]

'This could have been a lot different': Trump DOUBLES DOWN on blaming forest management for California wildfires before heading west 'to be with the firefighters', as more than one thousand people are feared missing and death toll hits 74

    At least 74 people have died in the California wildfires - 13 of whom are yet to be identified
    A further 1,011 people are still missing in and around Paradise in Northern California
    Recovery teams with cadaver dogs carried away deceased victims in body bags on Friday
    Trump said some bodies were 'burned beyond recognition' ahead of his Saturday visit to Paradise
    President will make two stops in California and meet with the governor and first responders
    He may not receive a warm welcome after he angered Californians by blaming fire on forest mismanagement
    He landed at the Beale Air Force base in Yuba County at 1pm EST (10am PST) but says he'll return to the White House around four in the morning
    Sheriff published list of missing online saying it 'could contain duplicate names and unreliable spellings'
    The number of names on the missing list swelled by more than 400 since Thursday night

By Marlene Lenthang and Ruth Styles In Chico, California For Dailymail.com

Published: 22:03 EST, 16 November 2018 | Updated: 14:42 EST, 17 November 2018

Donald Trump has touched down at the Beale Air Force base in Northern California hours after he blamed the deadly wildfires that have killed 74 on poor forest management yet again, re-igniting fury among West Coast residents and firefighters.

The president spoke to press first thing in the morning from the White House South Lawn before taking off for California where he'll be making two stops and will speak with first responders, FEMA representatives, California governor Jerry Brown and governor elect Gavin Newsom.

'It seems many more people are missing than anyone thought even possible.  And I want to be with the firefighters and the FEMA and first responders,' Trump said prior to takeoff.

'We have a lot of things to talk about. We will be talking about forest management. I've been saying that for a long time. This could have been a lot different situation... Very expensive issue but very inexpensive when you compare it to even one of these horrible fires and will save lots of lives in addition to a lot of money,' he said.

However, he commended the team of more than 9,000 'unbelievably brave' firefighters on the scene.

He landed in Yuba County, near the Camp Fire aftermath, at 1pm Eastern time (10am Pacific time). Trump said he'll likely return to the White House around 4am Eastern time.

He was given a 30-minute helicopter tour of the area flying through the thick haze of smoke followed by a motorcade tour of the devastation. He's expected to travel several hundred miles south to visit victims of the Thousand Oaks bar shooting later in the day.

Trump has been heavily criticized for blaming the fires on the 'gross mismanagement' of forests before sharing condolences for wildfire victims. He even threatened to cut off unspecified federal aid to California if they don't take action. 





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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6399991/California-searches-1-000-missing-deadliest-fire.html

[NavyCanDo]

True enough, Californias lack of forest management contributes to wild fires, but over half the California forest are National Forest, including where the Camp fire got it's start. Was any if the 1.1 Billion land management budget spent on reducing the undergrowth and forest thinning in CA?

[roamer_1]

Tump is right on this. And the whole of the Rockies will agree.
But it is not going to be an easy fix. Nor a quick one.

Foremost, there has to be a committed, long term, and coherent forest management policy, to entice the guys with deep pockets to get into the industry. That won/t come easy, considering how the federal government wrecked the industry thirty years ago.

There has to be a huge investment into mills of all kinds, because the ones that used to be there are all gone - cut up and hauled away at bankruptcy auctions.

Jippo mills, loggers and truckers have to be assured that their investments in equipment are going to be worthwhile - A one-horse guy like me doesn't just run out and buy a quarter-million dollar Kenworth because one administration decides to increase timber sales...

There has to be a huge investment in gravel roads to access the timber - All those road companies are long gone too... and the roads have long been gated off, and have thirty years of decay on them... In the forest, that may as well be cutting new ground. It'd take an act of congress just to open all the gravel pits again.

And a veritable army of workers have to be trained. Sawyers are few and far between. A whole generation had to go elsewhere to make a buck... Skidder operators, cat operators, loader operators, clippers, and on and on.

THEN timber sales will matter. THEN tearing down the gates will matter.

THEN the fires will begin to be controlled.
Folks just don't know how important every bit of that infrastructure is to fighting fires. Anyone who has been on a logging crew knows you can be pulled off the job (equipment and everything) and put to work cutting fire lines... And the premiere fire line cutters are those big D6 and D8 cats, rented and repurposed (operators along with it) for the job.

[Hoodat]

Three months ago .  .  .

Cooperation needed on state forests and the fires

By The Editorial Board | opinion@scng.com |
PUBLISHED: August 10, 2018 at 5:00 pm | UPDATED: August 10, 2018 at 5:00 pm

Twitter has a 280-character limit per tweet, and maybe that’s why President Donald Trump combined his complaints about California water policy and forestry practices in a recent message about the fires devastating wide areas of the state.

The issues are not related. Cal Fire said it doesn’t lack water for fighting wildfires. They rely more on fire retardant than water, and on bulldozing and clearing the fuel in the fire’s path.

Still, there is wide agreement that more needs to be done to clear dead trees in California’s forests, and increased logging of healthy trees could be part of the policy.

While changing weather patterns may be responsible for increased risk of fires, the need for mitigation of the risk can’t be disregarded.

The Trump administration has taken steps toward allowing commercial logging in the Los Padres National Forest north of Los Angeles, a policy the U.S. Forest Service says will reduce the risk of fire. Standing in the way are regulations that require formal environmental impact reviews of the potential effect on wildlife, habitat and the California condor, which is on the federal endangered species list.

U.S. officials would like to create a 12-mile-long firebreak, half a mile wide, along a ridge in the Los Padres National Forest without first conducting an environmental impact review. The plan includes the logging of marketable timber.

The plan is opposed by environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity.  .  .

https://www.ocregister.com/2018/08/10/cooperation-needed-on-state-forests-and-the-fires/