EVEN AFTER PARADISE FIRE, TRUMP DOESN”T BELIEVE IN “CLIMATE CHANGE”

…Just one view of the fighting of the fire tornado in Paradise, California

1,300 people are un-accounted for from the Paradise fire.

Those of us that live in California, are totally aware that the fires that have devastated our state are due mostly to a record drought, high winds and a major changing climate.  Unlike earlier comments in which President Trump threatened to withhold federal funding if changes in the state’s forest management weren’t made.  When Trump visited the fire areas, he changed his tune and said: “You’ve got the federal government at the ready”.

Obviously, the president failed to understand that the majority of the forests in California are on federally managed land, not state managed property.  The management issue was mostly in Trump’s court, not the states.

As President Trump toured a scene of surreal devastation on Saturday, he was picking his way around burned trees and the hulking skeletons of automobiles.  He did this as he pledged federal resources to help Californians recover from the most deadly and destructive wildfire in state’s history.

“This is very sad to see, but we’re all going to work together,” Trump said after a walking tour of a burned-out RV park and housing tract in the town of Paradise.  As he spoke, thick smoky haze hung in the air. Stone and brick chimneys were all that remained of some homes which were visible from Trump’s motorcade.

Referring to the staggering loss of life, more than 80 deaths have been recorded so far, and that number is expected to rise.  At least when discussing that, Trump did sound shaken.

“As far as the lives are concerned, nobody knows quite yet. We’re up to a certain number, but we have got a lot of people that aren’t accounted for yet [1,300].  Right now, we want to take care of the people who are so badly hurt,” Trump said.

But the question still lingers: Why is Trump attacking California over its deadly wildfires?  A number of national correspondents have commented that the president is against California because it voted against him in 2016, and in the recent mid-terms, California became even more Blue.  In fact, there are no Red areas or states on the US west coast that touch the Pacific coastline.

As wildfires grow in frequency and intensity in California, President Trump is launching false attacks and threats at the state.

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) walked with Trump and told reporters that the state’s requests are being answered positively by the Feds.

Trump toured the fire-damaged areas in both northern and southern California.  This was a very rare visit to a state Trump has often falsely demonized as a “sanctuary state” for illegal immigrants and crime.

The governor countered the president’s comments that climate change was only a small reason for the fires by saying that there were twice the amount of California property devastated by fire over the past 10 years, and it was all because of man-made climate change.

In fact, the experts say that because of the past multiple climate droughts in the state, the plants and trees are 50% more susceptible to fires due to their loss of moisture.

Trump’s one-day visit to California thrust him into a seldom played role of unifier and consoler, and he isn't very good at the task.  As usual, he was showing that he was highly uncomfortable in that role.  The president did seem moved by the scale of the loss around him and he showed concern to Brown and Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom (D).  But he said more to the firefighters and other rescuers deployed to the fire, than about those who had lost everything or that had paid the ultimate price of dying.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Trump told reporters as he flew from northern California to the second area of devastation, near Los Angeles.

The so-called northern California “Camp Fire”, covers an area north of Sacramento that is the size of the state of Rhode Island. Firefighters said Saturday that it is slightly more than 50% contained.

So far, there were 80 deaths and 9,700 homes destroyed in NorCal as a result of the 150,000-acre fire.  This is according to the Butte County Sheriff’s office.

Trump said other countries, including Sweden, do a better job “cleaning or sweeping the floor” of the forest, to reduce forest fires. He said he hopes the Camp Fire will be the last one of such size and devastation because of changes to forest-management practices.  However, the Prime Minister of Sweden admitted that he had talked to President Trump about removing debris from Swedish forests, but he said he never said they “swept” the forests floors.

All of California is in some stage of drought or in abnormally dry conditions due to climate change, while much of the burned area of Butte County is still in moderate drought.

As Trump drove from Paradise to a meeting with rescuers, local and law enforcement officials, a few supporters and a few protesters lined the road. One protester held aloft a sign reading, “ You Moron, we are in a drought.”

At an incident at the command center in Chico, Trump called the fire “a monster,” and he praised rescuers. “They’re out there fighting, and they’re fighting like hell,” Trump said. “It’s like total devastation.”  But once again, he never mentioned those that were devastated by the fire.

Asked by reporters whether climate change was a factor in the fire, Trump said: “It had some effect, but I think you have a lot of factors,” and then he again mentioned poor forest management. “Right now, that seems to be a very big problem.”  He later said his attitude about climate change hadn’t changed.  In other words, per Trump, the fire wasn’t because of climate change.  Trump has called climate change “a total hoax,” but later on he said it was real…?  We all know that he can change his mind in a nanosecond.

Brown and Newsom flew with Trump and stood with him as he spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One.  “Yes, yes,” Brown responded when he was asked whether the fires are linked to climate change. “We’ll let science determine this over a longer period of time,” he said. “But right now we’re collaborating on the most immediate response, and that’s very important.”

Brown made it clear that instead of arguing with the president about climate change, he was going to spend his time getting a financial commitment for federal support which were his current goals.

Trump jumped into the discussion saying: “We have different views but maybe not as different as people think,” Trump said. “Things are happening. Things are changing. And I think most importantly we’re doing things about to make it better. We’re going to make it a lot better.”

“Trump is basically ducking the fact that climate change has to be taken in account in understanding the conditions that set the stage for the fires,” said environmentalist and former State Department official, Rafe Pomerance.

“I think what he needs to do is get his facts first, then open his mouth,” said Natalie Smith, 51, who evacuated her rented Paradise home. “We’ve got people up there we don’t even know if they’re alive, and he’s worried about cleaning up our forests? We’ve got thousands of people with no homes sleeping on the ground, and he’s worried about us cleaning up our forests? Really?”

On top of that, she said, “Trump’s visit to see the devastation tied up local traffic Saturday. “Fly over it!” Smith said.  Of all the possessions she lost, she’s most upset about never seeing her wedding ring and great grandmother’s china again. “I got out with the clothes on my back and my cat in a box,” she said.

Before he had left Washington, Trump had said, without being asked by reporters, that fire management was 1^st on the agenda for the hastily arranged trip.

Brian K. Rice, president of California Professional Firefighters, called Trump’s words, “ill-informed, ill-timed and demeaning to those who are suffering as well as the men and women on the front lines.”

Tony Terrano, a 47-year-old welder and fabricator from Magalia, near Paradise, thought he could defend his home with a water hose. Six days later the water ran out, and he and his 3-year-old pit bull Mo Mo fled on foot.  Firefighters spotted him, he said, and took him to a sheriff’s command center, where he got a ride to the Red Cross shelter at the Neighborhood Church in Chico. There, a half-dozen fellow evacuees sat outside and watched TV news coverage of Trump’s visit.

“That fire’s creating its own atmosphere, its own weather system,” Terrano said. “It’s like it had its own personality. There was shrapnel coming at me through my yard. It was downright apocalyptic; it really was.”

We want [Trump] to see firsthand the real damage and the losses we’ve had,” Eddie Bazan said as they walked toward the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Recovery Center in Chico.

They said they have a mixed opinion on Trump, but were glad he came to town.

“I appreciate that he took the time to come here,” Allison Bazan said. “I appreciate that he took the time to thank our first responders, our law enforcement, everybody who’s been battling this for weeks now. It’s been a long road for all of us, and we have a long-ways to go still.”

Yes, everyone should have mixed opinions about Donald Trump, but most should just wish that he would agree to help out and then go away.

Copyright G. Ater  2018