What Trump is getting wrong about California's wildfires and water

Sammy Roth | Palm Springs Desert Sun

For the second time in two days, President Trump tweeted about California's ongoing wildfires — and most of what he said was incorrect.

Here's what Trump wrote on Monday:

Governor Jerry Brown must allow the Free Flow of the vast amounts of water coming from the North and foolishly being diverted into the Pacific Ocean. Can be used for fires, farming and everything else. Think of California with plenty of Water - Nice! Fast Federal govt. approvals. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 6, 2018

Wildfire experts, water scientists and journalists quickly pointed out there's been no shortage of water for fighting fires. They also noted that Trump's claim about water being "diverted" into the Pacific Ocean was backward; water naturally flows through many rivers to the ocean, and is diverted by farms, cities and other water users along the way.

Scott McLean, deputy chief for Cal Fire, tells me there's no basis, "at all," for Trump's suggestion that firefighters there are short of water: “I can reassure you we have water. There is plenty of water." — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 6, 2018

.@CAL_FIRE, again, responding to Trump's 2nd tweet about California diverting water to Pacific Ocean, hampering firefighting efforts: WE HAVE WATER-NOT THE ISSUE



"We have the ability to pull water from wherever we need using aircrafts-no idea where he's getting his information" — Brianna Sacks (@bri_sacks) August 6, 2018

Trump doubles down on his previous ignorant tweet about California #water and fires. The only water that reaches the ocean these days is what's left AFTER the massive diversions OUT of our rivers for cities and farms. And there's no shortage of fire-fighting water. Nuts. https://t.co/xWFeuoKv54 — Peter Gleick (@PeterGleick) August 6, 2018

Putting aside for a moment the ridiculousness of this idea (roundly criticized by wildfire experts): does the President understand the basic geography of the country? Water west of the continental divide isn't 'diverted' into the Pacific... it naturally drains there pic.twitter.com/oh3TVmqUDX — Simon Donner (@simondonner) August 6, 2018

trump's at war with the continental divide now — mark (@kept_simple) August 6, 2018

Additional fun fact: The free flow of water would mean most of the Central Valley farmland the president seems to be vouching for would be a) underwater, in the form of Lake Tulare or b) dry, b/c it would lack irrigation https://t.co/0c9ALQkTJz — Ry Rivard (@ryrivard) August 6, 2018

Trump's tweet followed a previous missive from Sunday, in which the president claimed that unspecified "bad environmental laws" are hurting efforts to fight the California fires by cutting off water supply — despite firefighters saying they have plenty of water.

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California wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amount of readily available water to be properly utilized. It is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean. Must also tree clear to stop fire spreading! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2018

Some scientists and journalists pointed out that Trump's tweets failed to call attention to one of the major forces driving bigger and more intense wildfires in the West: climate change. The president has repeatedly questioned the overwhelming scientific consensus that human greenhouse gas emissions are causing an increase in global temperatures, with consequences ranging from worse fire seasons, to rising sea levels, to more extreme heat waves. The Trump administration has worked aggressively to end federal policies designed to slow the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas levels.

"Think of California with plenty of Water"



And then clap your hands if you believe in fairies. https://t.co/A11kyB0Lbs — Dana Nuccitelli (@dana1981) August 6, 2018

People fighting California fires aren’t complaining about a water shortage, and do not connect #ESA to fire risk the way the President does. Instead fire officials are calling attention to unprecedented conditions - combining climate and development-driven risks. https://t.co/xc6OboxAjh — Molly Peterson (@Mollydacious) August 6, 2018

In case anyone is interested in what is *actually* the dominant cause of the increased frequency of California megafires.



cc: @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/oDT3eNhCll — Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) August 6, 2018

California's forests are burning because of past severe drought and current extreme temperatures and weather, worsened by human-caused #climatechange, which you think, in your fantasy world, doesn't exist. — Peter Gleick (@PeterGleick) August 5, 2018

Sammy Roth writes about energy and the environment for The Desert Sun. He can be reached at sammy.roth@desertsun.com, (760) 778-4622 and @Sammy_Roth.