Trump's tweets about wildfires were 'unconscionable,' Professor Frank tells L.A. Times

Commenting for the Los Angeles Times, Professor of Environmental Practice Richard M. Frank disputed President Trump’s tweets asserting California’s deadly wildfires have been worsened because water needed to battle them is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean.

“For the president to attempt to make political hay out of this disaster is unconscionable,” Frank told the Times.

On Aug. 6, President Trump tweeted that “California wildfires are being magnified & made much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amounts of readily available water to be properly utilized. … Must also tree clear to stop fire from spreading!”

The Times story details how the “tree clear” aspect is part of a new effort by the Trump administration to expand commercial logging in California.

Richard M. Frank ’74 is a leader in the field of environmental law, professor of environmental practice and the founding director of the California Environmental Law and Policy Center at UC Davis School of Law.