President Trump has been vocal in his criticism of California Governor Newsom's handling of wildfires, citing poor forest management as a key issue. Trump threatened to cut off federal funds to California in 2019 if reforms were not made to the state's forest management services.
Newsom and other Democrats have attributed wildfires in the state to climate change and global warming, leading to a clash with Trump and California Republicans who believe that forestry management failures are to blame.
In response to the criticism, Newsom pledged to reform California's approach to wildfire prevention in 2019. However, a recent NPR investigation revealed that the governor overstated the efforts, with data showing discrepancies in the number of acres treated with fuel breaks and prescribed burns.
Despite pushback from the state, Newsom's administration maintains that wildfire prevention efforts were impacted by the pandemic and an intense wildfire season that diverted resources to firefighting.
Newsom's Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan has made progress on all 99 key actions and has increased CAL FIRE's firefighting capacity by hiring 3,000 new firefighters since 2019.
Currently, multiple wildfires are raging in Los Angeles County, prompting Newsom to deploy significant resources including fire engines, helicopters, bulldozers, and specialized personnel to combat the blazes. The National Guard has also been mobilized in response to the fires.
