California wildfires spur federal water order, but its effects are unclear
The Associated Press Published 10:44 p.m. PT Aug. 8, 2018
It's unclear whether there will be any practical effect of a Trump administration directive to prioritize California water for firefighting over protecting endangered species.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross directed the National Marine Fisheries Service to prioritize water use in California for firefighting, potentially overriding its use to protect endangered species.
"The protection of life and property takes precedence over any current agreements regarding the use of water in the areas of California affected by wildfires," Ross said in a statement. "Going forward, the Department … (is) committed to finding new solutions to address threatened and endangered species in the context of the challenging water management situation in California."
But state fire officials say they don't need more water to fight the fires raging across the state. Neither federal nor state officials said whether direct action was being taken in response.
The directive follows a tweet by President Donald Trump on Sunday that blamed the severity of California's wildfires partly on its water management policies.
State experts disputed the charge. The fires are in hills far from the Pacific Ocean and from the man-made storage and distribution system that transports water from the wetter, northern part of the state to the southern part.
Mike Mohler, deputy director for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, says he doesn't know whether the Trump administration had contacted any California state agencies before issuing Wednesday's directive.
Gov. Jerry Brown's office and state water officials directed questions to Mohler.