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Trump, Biden Differ on Approach to Western Wildfires

Steve Herman

   WILMINGTON, DEL. - At opposite ends of the country, President Donald
   Trump'¯and'¯his Democratic challenger Joe Biden'¯presented vastly
   different views Monday about the cause of the historic, destructive
   wildfires in the Western United States, which have killed at least 35
   people.

   In California, the president -- brushing aside concerns about climate
   change as a catalyst for the increasing number and intensity of such
   fires -- reiterated his call for Western states to practice better
   forest management.

   "When trees fall down after a short period of time, they become very
   dry -- really like a matchstick," said Trump on arrival in California.
   "And they can explode. Also leaves. When you have dried leaves on the
   ground, it's just fuel for the fires."'¯

   Trump's "climate denial" did not cause the fires, Biden said in his
   home state of Delaware. But if the president gets a second term, "These
   hellish events will continue to become more common, more devastating
   and more deadly."

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