Image for representation. Credits: AP.
Entire cities have been ruined by the flames, which have spewed out tons of noxious fumes that have been floating in the air for days, blocking the sun and making it difficult to breathe.
- News18.com
- Last update: September 16, 2020 8:52 am IST
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US President Donald Trump proved on Monday that he has no idea how climate change or wildfires work.
In a new, false and unscientific claim, he said ‘trees just explode’, about why wildfires started in the US that continue unabated.
Trump repeated his argument that wildfires are caused by poor maintenance of forest areas, making them more combustible.
“There has to be strong forest management,” he said.
“With regard to forests, when the trees fall after a short period of time, about 18 months, they become very dry. They become really like a matchstick,” he added. “They just explode.”
The hells in California, Oregon and Washington state have burned more than five million acres (two million hectares) this year, killing dozens of people and forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes.
Entire cities have been ruined by the flames, which have spewed out tons of noxious fumes that have hung in the air for days, blocking the sun and making it difficult to breathe.
But Trump, in Sacramento, on the third day of a re-election campaign shift, rebuffed state officials, arguing that warm weather underlies the growing fires.
“It’s going to start getting cold. Just watch,” Trump said, offering no evidence for the theory.
“I wish science would agree with you,” responded Wade Crowfoot, director of the California Natural Resources Agency.
“I don’t think science knows, really,” Trump said.
Renowned scientists around the world are almost unanimous in their belief that the world is warming due to human activity.
This man-made climate change amplifies droughts, which dry up regions, creating ideal conditions for wildfires to spread uncontrollably and inflict unprecedented damage.
Much of the west coast has been covered in sweltering smog for days, and on Monday Portland was the most polluted city in the world according to IQAir.
Washington State Governor Jay Inslee said it was crucial that voters elect a “climate president” on November 3.
“This moment requires action, not denial,” he said in a tweet. “We must unite around science to build a better future for all Americans.”
Most of the 35 confirmed deaths so far have occurred in California and Oregon, where wildfires are the worst in decades and have been fueled in part by record heat.
More than 30,000 firefighters are battling the flames, with gusts of wind and drier weather Monday threatening further destruction.
Residents of Arcadia, outside Los Angeles, were ordered to evacuate Sunday when the nearby Bobcat Fire swept south through wooded terrain toward the metropolis.
Two new deaths were confirmed by the North Complex Fire, which spread at unprecedented speeds last week in areas already devastated less than two years ago by the Camp Fire, the deadliest fire in California history.
“There are still active fires, the power lines are down, the trees are down, there are impassable roads,” said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea, warning evacuees it could take “weeks and weeks” to return to their homes.
(With contributions from AFP)
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