Virginia Cramer, virginia.cramer@sierraclub.org, 804-519-8449
The Trump administration today ordered the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to prioritize water use in California for fire fighting. The move follows a tweet from Donald Trump blaming a lack of water for ongoing fires, despite repeated declarations from fire experts in the region that they have all the water needed to fight the blaze.
In response, Kirin Kennedy, associate legislative director for lands and wildlife issued the following statement.
“The Trump administration continues to exploit wildfires in California for political gain, with little consideration for the communities affected. As locals and experts have pointed out, water is not the issue here -- climate change is. Yet instead of addressing or even acknowledging climate change’s role in exacerbating wildfires, the administration is using fire as cover to serve special interests. Moving to increase logging and weaken protections for endangered species like salmon risks local and outdoor economies and ignores the need to reduce climate pollution, which is absolutely essential to ensuring the long-term safety of our communities.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.