An anonymous reader writes: As the wildfires continue in Southern California, President Donald Trump's administration released significant amounts of water from California's dams on Friday in a move that bypassed state authorities.
Trump has been fiercely critical of California Governor Gavin Newsom's efforts to contain the Los Angeles wildfires that broke out last month, dubbing him "Newscum" on social media.
The president has repeatedly attributed the disaster to what he says are water shortages caused by California state policies, such as fire hydrants that ran dry, though this was denied by state officials who claimed a water-pumping station that was down for maintenance has since been reopened.
The directive to release water came after Trump issued an executive order to "maximize" water deliveries in California and "override" state policies where they deem it necessary.
According to the Times on Friday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had then been directed to dramatically increase the flow of water as federal data confirmed that by the end of Friday increased releases from Terminus Dam at Lake Kaweah and Schafer Dam at Lake Success would total approximately 1.6 billion gallons of water.
The sudden water release has since stunned local officials, who scrambled to prevent potential flooding as state and federal water managers typically coordinate releases carefully, ensuring that enough water is retained for future agricultural use while preventing flood risks. However, the Trump administration's order bypassed this process, creating a chaotic response among local officials.
The unprecedented release, which sent water rushing into the Central Valley, had no impact on the recent Los Angeles wildfires, despite Trump's claims, who took to his Truth Social account to tout the release of water.
"Photo of beautiful water flow that I just opened in California," he posted, hailing the release as a "long fought Victory" that he suggested could have prevented the wildfires. "I only wish they listened to me six years ago—There would have been no fire!"
According to the Times, water experts explained the water released is headed for low-lying agricultural land, not Southern California, and has no physical route to reach wildfire-affected areas.
Laura Ramos, interim director of research and education at the California Water Institute at California State University, Fresno told the newspaper, "If the purpose was to help with the fires in Southern California, we do not believe that it will, because that's not where that water goes."
The release of the water comes after Trump claimed on social media on Monday that the U.S. military "just entered the Great State of California" in an attempt to improve the water supply.
Trump, a long-time critic of Newsom, said the military used emergency powers and "TURNED ON THE WATER" from the Pacific Northwest following the wave of devastating wildfires. This was denied by state authorities at the time.
