Saturday morning, as entire California towns were engulfed in flames, the president retreated to Twitter . He did not offer help, condolences or even prayers for those killed the toll is now at least 63 in the deadliest fire in the states history. Instead, he offered an explanation for the wildfires California s poor forest management and threatened to withhold federal recovery funds.

Poor forest management is a nod to logging interests and, for reasons others have pointed out , is not the root cause of Californias year-round wildfire problem.

President Donald Trump s comment isnt just factually inaccurate. It signals a larger problem that should be of major concern to those of us who want to prevent future disasters like this one.

Incorrectly placing blame on poor forest management keeps the American public from understanding the actual cause of the wildfires. This matters, because if we dont understand our risk, we cant take the appropriate steps to minimize or eliminate those risks going forward.