To the Editor:

Re “Ruthless California Wildfires Leave a Trail of Death and Despair” (news article, Nov. 11):

President Trump tweeted this statement after innocent people died and thousands of structures were destroyed in the Camp Fire in Northern California:

“There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. 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!”

Mr. Trump, the fire started in the Plumas National Forest, and many of the state’s worst fires have been on federal lands. Who administers and runs the national forests in the United States? The Department of Agriculture, which as I recollect is a federal agency that you as president oversee and is run by a cabinet member you appointed.

So on behalf of California and the victims of this terrible fire, alive and dead, I say, please, just shut up for once and send help to the communities devastated by this tragedy.

I have a really good idea: How about sending some of the 5, 600 American troops that you have sitting around our southern border right now, waiting to stop your mythical caravan of terrorists and murderers, to the town of Paradise in Northern California?