Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday offered President Donald Trump an executive order that would allow the federal government to match California’s firefighting efforts and fulfill its obligations.
Newsom said in a written statement that “California has invested billions of dollars to fight fires and treated millions of acres to reduce wildfire risk, while the Trump administration continues to cut resources and neglect its responsibility to manage the 57% of the state’s forestland under federal control.”
Over half of California’s forestland is under federal control, yet @realDonaldTrump refuses to carry his weight.
I’m sending him a model executive order to help the feds catch up and protect our communities. pic.twitter.com/y4qph3hsB7
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) July 1, 2025
With the video below, featuring Newsom standing on the Mt. Howell fire lookout tower (which stands 60 feet high) with a copy of the executive order in his hand, Newsom wrote: “57% of California’s forests are federally-owned. We’ve done more than our fair share of ‘raking’ the forests to fight wildfire risk, investing billions of dollars to treat federally owned land. @realDonaldTrump, put your money where your mouth is and step up your own game.”
57% of California’s forests are federally-owned.
We’ve done more than our fair share of “raking” the forests to fight wildfire risk, investing billions of dollars to treat federally owned land.@realDonaldTrump, put your money where your mouth is and step up your own game. pic.twitter.com/5MzZRzn7Bg
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) July 1, 2025
Note: For years, Trump has blamed the state of California for its wildfires, and has told Newsom to rake the floors of forests as a solution, a suggestion which many environmental experts say reflects a lack of understanding of the science of wildfires in the United States.