White House can't -- or won't -- explain Trump's wildfire tweets - CNN

White House can't -- or won't -- explain Trump's wildfire tweets
Jeremy Diamond 2017Kevin Liptak-Profile-Image
By Jeremy Diamond and Kevin Liptak, CNN

Updated 0122 GMT (0922 HKT) August 8, 2018
WH won't explain Trump's wildfire tweets
The Carr Fire tears through Shasta, Calif., Thursday, July 26, 2018. Fueled by high temperatures, wind and low humidity, the blaze destroyed multiple homes and at least one historic building.
Bulldozer driver killed in California wildfire
firenadoes weather explainer graphic norman nr vpx_00005624
How do 'firenadoes' form?
goleta california wildfire sidner lklv nr vpx_00001506
Heatwave, winds fuel deadly fast-moving fires

Fast-moving wildfire kills 1 in California

Wildfires are turning California skies orange

Man rescues wild rabbit from blaze
Thomas Fire burns a hillside in Ojai, California, December 7, 2017.

California wildfire burns homes, kills horses
epaselect epa06372496 A Los Angeles County Fire helicopter flies over during the 'Skirball Fire' which began early morning in Bel-Air, California, USA, 06 December 2017. An outbreak of several fires North of Los Angeles has occurred as one of the strongest Santa Ana winds forecast of the season is ongoing and expected to last several days.  EPA-EFE/JOHN CETRINO
Wildfires devastate Southern California
A firefighter runs while trying to save a home as a wildfire tears through Lakeport, Calif., Tuesday, July 31, 2018. The residence eventually burned. Firefighters pressed their battle against a pair of fires across Mendocino and Lake counties. In all, roughly 19,000 people have been warned to flee and 10,000 homes remain under threat. Noah Berger/AP
WH won't explain Trump's wildfire tweets
A firefighter runs while trying to save a home as a wildfire tears through Lakeport, Calif., Tuesday, July 31, 2018. The residence eventually burned. Firefighters pressed their battle against a pair of fires across Mendocino and Lake counties. In all, roughly 19,000 people have been warned to flee and 10,000 homes remain under threat. Noah Berger/AP
Mendocino Fire is largest in California history

Man 'wanted to comfort' grandson during fire
In this Friday, July 27, 2018 photo, a firefighting helicopter makes a water drop as the sun sets over a ridge burning near Redding, Calif., in efforts against the Carr Fire. Scorching heat, winds and dry conditions complicated firefighting efforts. (Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee/ AP
California fires leave devastation in their wake
neil-diamond-firefighters.
Legendary singer surprises firefighters
An historic schoolhouse burns as the Carr Fire tears through Shasta, Calif., Thursday, July 26, 2018. Fueled by high temperatures, wind and low humidity, the blaze destroyed multiple homes and at least one historic building.
Family: Kids, great-grandmother killed in fire

Carr Fire widower describes emotional phone call

2 killed, thousands evacuated in wildfire
The Carr Fire tears through Shasta, Calif., Thursday, July 26, 2018. Fueled by high temperatures, wind and low humidity, the blaze destroyed multiple homes and at least one historic building. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Bulldozer driver killed in California wildfire
firenadoes weather explainer graphic norman nr vpx_00005624
How do 'firenadoes' form?
goleta california wildfire sidner lklv nr vpx_00001506
Heatwave, winds fuel deadly fast-moving fires

Fast-moving wildfire kills 1 in California
Inmate firefighters work as flames from the County Fire climb a hillside in Guinda, California, on July 1, 2018. - Californian authorities have issued red flag weather warnings and mandatory evacuation orders after a series of wildfires fanned by high winds and hot temperatures ripped through thousands of acres. The latest blaze, the County Fire sparked in Yolo County on June 30, had by July 1 afternoon spread across 22,000 acres (9,000 hectares) with zero percent containment, according to Cal Fire. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP)        (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)
Wildfires are turning California skies orange

Man rescues wild rabbit from blaze
Thomas Fire burns a hillside in Ojai, California, December 7, 2017.
Local emergency officials warned of powerful winds on Thursday that will feed wildfires raging in Los Angeles, threatening multi-million dollar mansions with blazes that have already forced more than 200,000 people to flee.
California wildfire burns homes, kills horses
epaselect epa06372496 A Los Angeles County Fire helicopter flies over during the 'Skirball Fire' which began early morning in Bel-Air, California, USA, 06 December 2017. An outbreak of several fires North of Los Angeles has occurred as one of the strongest Santa Ana winds forecast of the season is ongoing and expected to last several days.  EPA-EFE/JOHN CETRINO
Wildfires devastate Southern California
A firefighter runs while trying to save a home as a wildfire tears through Lakeport, Calif., Tuesday, July 31, 2018. The residence eventually burned. Firefighters pressed their battle against a pair of fires across Mendocino and Lake counties. In all, roughly 19,000 people have been warned to flee and 10,000 homes remain under threat. Noah Berger/AP
WH won't explain Trump's wildfire tweets
A firefighter runs while trying to save a home as a wildfire tears through Lakeport, Calif., Tuesday, July 31, 2018. The residence eventually burned. Firefighters pressed their battle against a pair of fires across Mendocino and Lake counties. In all, roughly 19,000 people have been warned to flee and 10,000 homes remain under threat. Noah Berger/AP
Mendocino Fire is largest in California history

Man 'wanted to comfort' grandson during fire
In this Friday, July 27, 2018 photo, a firefighting helicopter makes a water drop as the sun sets over a ridge burning near Redding, Calif., in efforts against the Carr Fire. Scorching heat, winds and dry conditions complicated firefighting efforts. (Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee/ AP
California fires leave devastation in their wake
neil-diamond-firefighters.
Legendary singer surprises firefighters
An historic schoolhouse burns as the Carr Fire tears through Shasta, Calif., Thursday, July 26, 2018. Fueled by high temperatures, wind and low humidity, the blaze destroyed multiple homes and at least one historic building. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Family: Kids, great-grandmother killed in fire

Carr Fire widower describes emotional phone call
TOPSHOT - A burning home is reflected in a pool during the Carr fire in Redding, California on July 27, 2018. - One firefighter has died and at least two others have been injured as wind-whipped flames tore through the region.
2 killed, thousands evacuated in wildfire
(CNN)Even the White House can't explain President Donald Trump's tweets suggesting California environmental laws have worsened wildfires raging in that state.

On Tuesday, administration officials declined to offer any clarity on Trump's series of tweets claiming environmental laws and water regulations in California are hampering the state's ability to fight the wildfires. Wildfire experts and local officials say the President's claims simply don't hold up.
Instead, some White House officials admitted to being slightly perplexed at where Trump may have gotten the notion that California's long-running water crisis and a debate over how to divide limited supplies are somehow related to the out of control fires.
California fire explodes in size, is now largest in state history
California fire explodes in size, is now largest in state history
While Trump's tweets can sometimes be linked to segments on Fox News, there have been no correlating segments linking the two issues in recent days on the channel that frequently serves as presidential inspiration. White House officials also couldn't say whether Trump had discussed the issue with California lawmakers involved in the water debate.
What Trump said
Trump launched his unfounded suggestions in a tweet on Sunday claiming: "California wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren't allowing massive amount of readily available water to be properly utilized."

Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
 California wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amounts of readily available water to be properly utilized. It is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean. Must also tree clear to stop fire from spreading!

7:53 AM - Aug 7, 2018

He then claimed that the water is "being diverted into the Pacific Ocean."
He reiterated those claims on Monday, calling on Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown to "allow the Free Flow of the vast amounts of water coming from the North and foolishly being diverted into the Pacific Ocean. Can be used for fires, farming and everything else."

Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
 Governor Jerry Brown must allow the Free Flow of the vast amounts of water coming from the North and foolishly being diverted into the Pacific Ocean. Can be used for fires, farming and everything else. Think of California with plenty of Water - Nice! Fast Federal govt. approvals.

3:43 AM - Aug 7, 2018

Trump's claims are false, according to California officials and wildfire experts.
Trump said Tuesday at a dinner with business leaders that a "very tough situation" is underway in California, where wildfires are raging.
"It's been a very tough situation taking place in California for a number of years and we're going to have to have some meetings about it," Trump said from his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club.
Trump said there are "things you can do to mitigate" the damage, but did not expand upon his remarks.
He said he was "deeply grateful to firefighters and first responders" combating the flames, and said that his administration would do "everything in our power to protect those in harm's way."
He did not repeat his earlier claims, made on Twitter, that a water shortage was affecting impacting the state's ability to fight the fires.
What officials and experts have said
Local officials have made clear they have not had any difficulty accessing enough water to fight the fires. A FEMA official also told CNN there is no water shortage or problem with access to water hindering firefighting efforts in California.
Interior Department spokeswoman Heather Swift declined to comment on Trump's tweets: "We don't weigh in on the President's tweets. We let those statements speak for themselves."
As for water "being diverted into the Pacific Ocean," while there is a debate raging in California about how much water should be diverted to coastal communities versus farmers in the central part of the state, water is not being intentionally flushed into the ocean.
"I was stunned when I read this this morning," Henri Grissino-Mayer, a climatologist and biogeographer at the University of Tennessee, told CNN in an email. "California does NOT divert water to the ocean. Ridiculous."
Grissino-Mayer noted that water "is diverted to the coastal cities for a constant water supply but all such water is used by the coastal communities."
What's the context?
Trump's tweet comes after California water officials ignited a debate this summer by proposing a plan to limit the amount of water that can be drawn from the San Joaquin River for use in cities and farmlands.
The proposal has pitted farmers against fisheries and environmentalists, but Trump's attempt to connect the debate to wildfires doesn't pass muster.
Instead of environmental laws and water regulations, local officials and experts have said scorching heat and dry conditions have led to several of the worst wildfires California has ever seen.
Experts say those conditions are being driven by climate change, which Trump has previously dismissed as a hoax.
CNN's Brandon Miller, Judson Jones, Greg Wallace and Rene Marsh contributed to this report.