Trump on California’s wildfires: ‘Forest management is so poor’

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., en route to Paris, Friday Nov. 9, 2018, where they will participate in World War I commemorations. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) less President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., en route to Paris, Friday Nov. 9, 2018, where they will participate in World War I commemorations. (AP ... more Photo: Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press Photo: Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Trump on California’s wildfires: ‘Forest management is so poor’ 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

President Trump weighed in Saturday on the Camp Fire in Butte County, the most destructive wildfire in California history, blaming it and other disastrous blazes burning in the state on “poor” forest management.

Trump also threatened to cut off unspecified federal aid if changes aren’t made.

California officials and fire experts, including the head of the state’s largest firefighters association, blasted Trump’s comments as simplistic and ill-informed — noting that the federal government itself owns more than half of California’s forest land — and grossly insensitive in its timing.

Trump’s original tweet, his first public remarks on the California wildfires that have killed 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes, contained no words of sympathy for the victims.

Fourteen hours later, he tweeted again to offer condolences. The tweets were sent while Trump was in Paris to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.

“There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor,” the president’s first tweet read. “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!”

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! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018

Trump had been silent for two days about the Camp Fire, which broke out early Thursday near Paradise, east of Chico in Butte County, as well as about large wildfires raging in Southern California. At least 23 people have died and 6,713 structures have burned in the Camp Fire, making it the most destructive wildfire ever in California, surpassing last year’s Tubbs Fire in the North Bay. Two people have died in a fire around Malibu.

Later Saturday, Trump tweeted again about this fires, this time expressing sympathy for the victims, evacuees and firefighters, and urging people to heed evacuation orders.

More than 4,000 are fighting the Camp and Woolsey Fires in California that have burned over 170,000 acres. Our hearts are with those fighting the fires, the 52,000 who have evacuated, and the families of the 11 who have died. The destruction is catastrophic. God Bless them all. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018

These California fires are expanding very, very quickly (in some cases 80-100 acres a minute). If people don’t evacuate quickly, they risk being overtaken by the fire. Please listen to evacuation orders from State and local officials! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018

On Thursday, California asked Trump and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to issue an emergency declaration that would help clear the way for federal aid in the Camp Fire zone and other places in California where fires are burning. That request was granted Friday.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s spokesman, Evan Westrup, said in a statement, “Our focus is on the Californians impacted by these fires and the first responders and firefighters working around the clock to save lives and property — not on the president’s inane, uninformed tweets.”

Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom noted in a tweet that “lives have been lost” and “entire towns have burned to the ground,” something Trump didn’t initially mention, and added, “This is not a time for partisanship. This is a time for coordinating relief and response and lifting those in need up.”

Lives have been lost. Entire towns have been burned to the ground. Cars abandoned on the side of the road. People are being forced to flee their homes. This is not a time for partisanship. This is a time for coordinating relief and response and lifting those in need up. https://t.co/sAZ3QULV8G — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) November 10, 2018

Trump has criticized forestry management in California before, including after the Carr Fire earlier this year that killed eight people in and around Redding. In that instance, he tweeted that California wildfires were being magnified by environmental laws that “diverted” river water to the ocean but also said, “Must also tree clear to stop fire spreading!”

California wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amounts of readily available water to be properly utilized. It is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean. Must also tree clear to stop fire from spreading! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 6, 2018

Experts point to a century’s worth of fire suppression as one factor in allowing forests to build up a dangerous amount of flammable material. Tom Bonnicksen, a retired forestry and wildfire expert who spent years researching fires in California, told The Chronicle that forests around Paradise contained about 2,000 trees per acre when he studied the area about a decade ago. A healthy forest should have between 60 and 80 trees per acre, he said.

Environmentalists, however, fear that Trump simply wants to make it easier for logging companies to clear-cut forests. The president reinforced their fears last month when he said, “The environmentalists are doing something very bad, they won’t let us take the logs, they won’t let us take the dead trees. If a little spark hits it, they lose 200,000 acres.”

Trump has failed to note that more than half the forested land in California is under federal control, essentially his jurisdiction. One fire expert said Saturday the president’s statements oversimplify a complicated problem.

“To have a president come out and say it’s all because of forest management is ridiculous. It completely ignores the dynamic of what’s going on around us,” said LeRoy Westerling, a climate and fire scientist at UC Merced.

He said rising temperatures and longer spells of dry weather were the main culprits in the increased number and ferocity of wildfires.

“Climate change is drying out our landscape. That’s not forest management. That’s managing your safe zones around a city,” Westerling said. “He’s going after California because Californians don’t vote for him.”

Westrup, the governor’s spokesman, pointed to the passage this year of a bill intended to reduce wildland fire danger.

Under the bill, SB901, the state will dedicate $1 billion over five years to fire-reducing efforts such as clearing brush and setting prescribed burns. It also eases restrictions for clearing drought-killed trees from the state’s forests.

Brian Price, president of the 30,000-member California Professional Firefighters, called Trump’s first tweet “ill-informed, ill-timed and demeaning to those who are suffering, as well as the men and women on the front lines.”

“At a time when our every effort should be focused on vanquishing the destructive fires and helping the victims, the president has chosen instead to issue an uninformed political threat aimed squarely at the innocent victims of these cataclysmic fires,” Price said in a statement.

“The president’s assertion that California’s forest management policies are to blame for catastrophic wildfire is dangerously wrong,” he added. “Wildfires are sparked and spread not only in forested areas but in populated areas and open fields fueled by parched vegetation, high winds, low humidity and geography.”

Chronicle Sacramento Bureau chief Melody Gutierrez and Chronicle Staff Writer Peter Fimrite contributed to this report.

Trapper Byrne and Kurtis Alexander are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: tbyrne@sfchronicle.com, kalexander@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @trapperbyrne @kurtis alexander