Raking leaves to prevent wildfires

During his first term, then-President Donald Trump famously criticized California for causing our massive wildfires by failing to rake the leaves in our forests. He hinted that he might withhold aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) if we did not give him unspecified political concessions.

And now, a week before he starts his second term, Trump and congressional Republicans are again threatening to withhold FEMA funds to recover from the horrific wildfires that have ravaged Los Angeles County this month unless the state makes political concessions.

I can’t help but think of President Joe Biden’s responses when hurricanes pounded Florida and other Republican-led states in the southeast, or horrific wildfires in Republican-led Texas. Never once did he blame them for not preparing for natural disasters. FEMA gave money to help them recover, which is how it is supposed to be.

But Democrats dominate the political scene in California, which changes things dramatically.

California does not even suffer the worst damage from wildfires. According to figures compiled and posted on Wikipedia, California is number four in the number of acres burned in 2024

Acres burned in “significant” wildfires in 2024, by state

Oregon — 1,918,122

Texas — 1,282,697

Idaho — 1,002,204

California — 976,185