As California comes to terms with the deadliest wildfires in its history, United States President Donald Trump has offered a solution to the problem. Mr Trump said California authorities should copy Finland’s example and rake forest floors to remove the material which fuels fires. Except Finland does not have that strategy for managing its vast forest reserves. Sources: Timberbiz, ABC News
Mr Trump suggested he got the raking idea after speaking with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto in Paris for the Armistice Day centenary commemoration.
“You look at other countries where they do it differently, and it’s a whole different story,” he said. “I was with the President of Finland, and he said: ‘We’re a forest nation’ and they spent a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things, and they don’t have any problem.”
Mr Trump made the comments while visiting the west coast state and while chatting to survivors of the Camp Fire blaze, which has killed 77 and destroyed more than 12,000 properties.
But Finland’s President said he never mentioned raking. He isn’t sure where Mr Trump got the idea that raking is part of his country’s routine for managing its substantial forests.
“I mentioned [to] him that Finland is a land covered by forests and we also have a good monitoring system and network,” he said.
Forests cover more than 70% of Finland’s 338,000 square kilometres. The Nordic country with a population of 5.5 million is home to some of the world’s biggest paper and pulp companies.
Forest fires are still a problem in Finland but the country has an early-detection network, aerial surveillance and a widespread forest road network, which helps bring fires under control quickly. The two regions also have vastly different climates and environments, with California’s dry, hot conditions more susceptible to blazes while Finland is very cold and wet.
Mr Trump’s suggestion that America should ‘rake’ its forests like Finland has led to a spate of social media posts many from Finland that take a lighter view of his suggestion – including one that says Trump should Make America Rake Again.
