(Image and Content courtesy of freerangerreport.com)
Concerning Route 299 — a major highway where the Carr Fire began — local officials failed to clear shrubbery that typically lines the hot roadway, despite appeals from transportation officials to do so. Federal park service officials tasked with preventing fires in the Shasta County area operated with a “fraction” of the funds and staffing needed to prevent deadly fires. At the same time, the local parks team, the investigation found, was greatly limited by air pollution regulations. (RELATED: Trump Says ‘Bad Environmental Laws’ Made Deadly California Fires Even Worse)
President Donald Trump, a skeptic of climate change, has hammered the state for what he says is poor forest management. The Republican president has even threatened to cut off federal funds if California leaders didn’t change their policy.
“California, get on the ball. Because we’re not going to hand you any more money. It’s ridiculous, okay?” Trump said in October during a state leadership conference in Washington, D.C., which included California representatives. “Do you know the kind of money you’re talking about for the state and for the federal government?”