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Science Oct 16, 2020
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Daniel Dreifuss for The New York Times The Trump administration has rejected California’s request for disaster relief aid for six recent fires that have scorched more than 1.8 million acres in land, destroyed thousands of structures and caused at least three deaths, a state official said. “The request for a Major Presidential Disaster Declaration for early September fires has been denied by the federal administration,” Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the governor’s office of emergency services, said late Thursday. The state plans to appeal the decision, Mr. Ferguson said, adding that the state believes it has a “strong case that California’s request meets the federal requirements for approval.” The Federal Emergency Management Agency did not immediately return a request for comment on Friday. The aid rejection came weeks after President Trump visited California after a period of silence on its wildfires and blamed poor forest management , not climate change, for the crisis. “I don’t think science knows” what is happening, he said, when the state’s secretary for natural resources pressed him. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California last month requested the declaration to include statewide hazard mitigation, as well as public assistance for seven counties. His request, in the […]
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