As catastrophic fires rage in California, President Trump looked for someone to blame. In a series of tweets posted Saturday and Sunday, Trump faulted "gross mismanagement of the forests" for the wildfires, which have killed at least 31 people. The president also threatened to cut federal funding for firefighting efforts.
Firefighters immediately pointed out errors in Trump's assertions. The Woolsey Fire started not in a forest but on a hillside near Simi Valley before spreading to suburban communities, while the Camp Fire is burning in an area thinned by fire 10 years ago. Forest management didn't cause these blazes and California is considered a leader in Forest management on private lands.
Complicating the management problem is the fact that the State of California owns very few of the forests within its borders – most are owned by the federal government or private landowners.
This thread sounds like it is becoming right wing/left wing argument.
People fear the left wing do not want to touch the forest until they all burn down.
People fear the right wing wants to "manage" them aka let corporations clear cut them for profit.
Forrest management is much more complicated than environmentalists vs lumber companies.
(I would imagine money has a large part on what can be done. Money is always a large part of getting anything done.)
California's Little Hoover Commission did a study in 2018 (Report #242, February 2018) with findings and recommendations.
For the Overview -
https://lhc.ca.gov/report/fire-mountain-rethinking-forest-management-sierra-nevada
For the summary -
https://lhc.ca.gov/sites/lhc.ca.gov/files/Reports/242/ExecutiveSummary242.pdf
Californians should call their State representatives, let them know you are aware of the report (and are they?) and ask them what is being done to address the commissions findings and recommendations.
"And that's all I have to say about that."
- Forrest Gump