Trump cites ‘total devastation’ in Paradise, pushes plan to thin forests

The Sacramento Bee ^ | November 17th, 2018 | By Alexei Koseff And Dale Kasler

[Mariner]

PARADISE - President Donald Trump toured the damage wrought by California’s deadliest wildfire Saturday, visiting the ruins of a mobile home park and pressing his argument that the state’s forests must be managed more aggressively to prevent future disasters.

With the death toll from the Camp Fire at 71 and rising, Trump met with Paradise Mayor Jody Jones and toured the charred wreckage of the Skyway Villa Mobile Home and RV Park. They passed a destroyed home where someone had hung an American flag, and picked their way past a downed streetlamp and other debris.

Bits of ash floated in the air, although neither the president or anyone in his entourage wore masks. Trump later was briefed on details of the fire by Cal Fire officials at the agency’s incident command post in nearby Chico.

“We’ve never seen anything like this,” Trump said. “It looks like total devastation.”

He was accompanied by Gov. Jerry Brown and Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, two Democrats who’ve been outspoken adversaries of the Republican president. The two sides tried to downplay their differences, but some tensions were clear as the visit progressed.

Administrator Brock Long of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, making his second visit to the area in four days, told Trump it was “probably the worst disaster that I’ve seen in my career.” Long announced that 12,000 people have registered with FEMA for financial aid, and that $3 million has been handed out already.

[Mariner]

"Despite his many conflicts with Trump, Brown has said the state needs to do more to thin out California’s forests. In September, as part of an agreement to reduce liability for electric utilities whose equipment ignites fires, Brown signed a bill that allocates $1 billion from the state’s cap-and-trade revenues over the next five years for forest thinning, mainly on private property."

Could the commies finally be recognizing some reality?

Well, it's a nice thought anyway.

[Sacajaweau]

Put in fire breaks. We know that works. And cut huge swaths of clear space along power lines.

And stop the crap....if property owners want to clear their land...let them do it. Unnecessary regulations are killing people.

[Fungi]

Everywhere RATS control, all is lost and everything is destroyed. Moonbeam vetoed a bill calling for sensible forest management. The RATS, and Moonbeam personally, should be held accountable. How much more devastation and lives will it take before the truth is plain to see????

[Eagles6]

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2018/11/14/overwhelming-evidence-against-pge-in-deadly-fire-says-lawyer-suing.html

[Mariner]

“Unnecessary regulations are killing people.”

And forest animals, and streams, and fish, and trees, and farm animals, and pets. It’s also burning buildings by the thousands, and hundreds of vehicles.

And severely polluting the air for hundreds of miles.

[Openurmind]

“We’ll be working also with environmental groups. I think everybody’s seen the light.”

Nope... They would rather see man go extinct than compromise.

[Mariner]

All PG&E did was provide the spark. If it had not been them, it would have been somebody else.

They are no more responsible for this catastrophe that you or I.

In fact, just a week before this fire people were filing lawsuits against PG&E because they were proactively cutting power to suspect lines in Red Flag/tinderbox conditions.

[MichaelCorleone]

Fine. Now maybe the Little Leaguers and Babe Ruth Baseball League players can go back to using wooden bats like they’re supposed to instead of those insanely expensive USA bats that go for upwards of several hundred dollars each.

Just for starters.

[Eagles6]

Um...actually I had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Supposedly they are being sued for poorly maintaining the growth along the lines that led to the wine country fires.

Don't you think it would be easier to defend proactively cutting power to prevent a devastating fire than to defend not cutting the power?

[Sacajaweau]

I agree....It’s the damn environmentalists...

[ClearBlueSky]

So they cared more about habitat for the coyotes and bunnies than homes andhuman life. Lots of roasted coyotes and bunnies and their habitat is gone too. How did that work out?

[Sacajaweau]

I think the bottom line is poor communication with the people in the fire's path.....and warnings coming too late.

There should be huge swaths of cleared lands along the highways and alternate routes. They got trapped on lone highways.

[Mariner]

The wind was gusting to 60 mph, the fuel load was enormous and tinder dry.

The town never had a chance.

Sirens and general alarm would not have made a difference.

Clearing for 100ft either side of the road would have helped. Then so many would not have burned in their cars.

[EnglishOnly]

I agree with President Trump.

If you can’t / won’t manage the forest correctly, then don’t expect Taxpayers to just willy-nilly pick up the tab to rebuild everything because of your arrogance.

Trump is Right.....again.

[Sarah Barracuda]

Which is EXACTLY the point President Trump was making and he got BASHED for it..about damn time Brown maybe sees the light, even though we all know he’s only being “nice” to get Govt money

[Chauncey Gardiner]

We used to have fire breaks and thinning as part of normal forestry. The liberals came along several decades ago and screwed it up.

[Clutch Martin]

Goats, lots of goats...

[American in Israel]

A thousand people died because Brown vetoed a forest cleanup biii to free more funds to benefit illegal immigrants.

Brown has a LOT of blood on his hands.

[thecodont]

A thousand people died because Brown vetoed a forest cleanup biii to free more funds to benefit illegal immigrants.

Brown has a LOT of blood on his hands.

American lives matter.

[zencycler]

Pave Paradise and put up a parking lot.