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Fact check: Trump used water reserve in California to try to put out wild fires
1. Summary of the results
The statement oversimplifies a complex situation. While Trump did direct the Army Corps of Engineers to release 2.2 billion gallons of water from Sierra Nevada foothill reservoirs [1], experts unanimously agree there was absolutely no connection between this water release and firefighting capabilities in Los Angeles [1] [2]. The premise that California water policies prevented firefighting efforts was explicitly declared false by Governor Newsom's office [3].
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
Several crucial pieces of context are missing from the original statement:
- Los Angeles primarily receives its water from the Owens Valley aqueduct and Colorado River, not Northern California water sources [4]
- Southern California actually had plenty of water stored at the time [5]
- The real issues were:
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
The statement appears to be based on several false premises and misrepresentations:
- Trump claimed there was a "water restoration declaration" that Newsom refused to sign - this was proven to be a fabrication [6]
- The statement implies a connection between Northern California water management and Southern California firefighting capabilities, which experts like Mark Gold from the Natural Resources Defense Council called "irresponsible" [4]
- Local water shortages were due to infrastructure limitations, not water policy decisions [5]
This narrative potentially benefited:
- Political actors seeking to shift blame from climate change and infrastructure issues to state water management policies
- Those opposing California's environmental water management policies by creating a false connection to public safety concerns
The experts cited, including Peter Gleick, Mark Gold, and Daniel Dale, all independently confirmed there was no connection between water policies and firefighting challenges [1] [4] [2].