California mayor slams Trump administration for putting 'its head in the sand' amid response to wildfires

• California Mayor Eric Garcetti slammed President Donald Trump on Sunday, suggesting his remarks on the wildfires raging across multiple West Coast states are inadequate.
• Trump has repeatedly said that forest fires can be prevented using "forest management" tactics like raking and cleaning.
• "He's going to come out here and probably tell us, 'I'm going to send you rakes instead of more help,'" Garcetti said of Trump. "We need actual help. Material help not based on our party affiliation or how we voted."
• The president is scheduled to deliver a briefing in California on Monday, which would mark his first official visit since wildfires broke out over a month ago.

California Mayor Eric Garcetti on Sunday slammed President Donald Trump's upcoming visit to the state and his response to the wildfires raging across the US west coast.

"He's going to come out here and probably tell us, 'I'm going to send you rakes instead of more help,'" Garcetti said of Trump. "We need actual help. Material help not based on our party affiliation or how we voted."

The president is scheduled to deliver a briefing in California on Monday, which would mark his first official visit since wildfires broke out over a month ago.

Last month, Trump said that forest fires can be prevented using "forest management" tactics like raking and cleaning. Trump reiterated the claim again at a campaign rally in Nevada on Saturday night.

Garcetti, in a lengthy speech on CNN's "State of the Union" said he listens "to fire professionals, not the president of the United States" when seeking information on what causes these blazes.

Garcetti attributed the cause of the blazes to "years of drought" and "climate change."

—State of the Union (@CNNSotu) September 13, 2020

"This is an administration that put its head in the sand," Garcetti said, referencing the White House's decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement and downplay the global consequences of climate change.

"Talk to a firefighter if you think that climate change isn't real," Garcetti added.

"It seems like this administration are the last vestiges of the flat earth society of this generation. We need real action. We need to actually reduce the carbon emissions and we need to make sure we can manage that water. And this is not about forest management or raking. Anybody who lives here in California is insulted by that quite frankly and he keeps perpetrating this lie."

Last month, Trump ordered federal aid to be delivered to California to aid in recovery efforts. This week, he also approved an emergency declaration for Oregon, another state engulfed in flames.

Dozens of people have died from the fires raging across the West Coast, according to multiple outlets.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider asking about Garcetti's remarks.