Tuesday February 11, 2025
KVPR —
In the wake of the Los Angeles fires, President Trump blamed California for not sending enough water to help with firefighting efforts. Water experts debunked that claim – saying there was plenty of water already in Southern California to battle the deadly blazes.
But President Trump recently directed big water releases from two dams in Tulare County, implying it would have prevented the fires if it happened sooner. The move flummoxed farmers who rely on that water for irrigation.
According to a statement from local irrigation districts, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flushed more than 2 billion gallons out of the dams at Lake Kaweah and Lake Success between Jan. 31 and Feb. 2. The agency said it was to help combat wildfires in Southern California under an executive order the president signed last month.
“All we’re doing is giving Los Angeles and the entire state of California virtually unlimited water,” Trump said at the Oval Office last week.