The Army Corps of Engineers colonel, who was ordered by President Donald Trump in January to release water from California’s reservoirs, knew that it would be ineffective in putting out the state’s devastating wildfires. But Trump did it anyway.
According to a memo obtained by The Washington Post, Colonel Chad W. Caldwell knew that the water released from California’s Lake Kaweah and Lake Success reservoirs would not reach the intended areas in time to prevent significant damage.
At the time, Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California called the highly criticized move “clearly nothing but a poor publicity stunt.”
“And it was a dangerous one,” he said, citing the risk of flooding.
