Trump to challenge Newsom on California’s water policies amid uncontrolled wildfires

“We have water, it just doesn’t get distributed that well,” said Steven Greenhut, a water policy expert at the think tank R Street.

Mr. Greenhut said Mr. Trump could step in to increase water flow from the federally run Central Valley Project to the southern part of the state.

“I think there’d be at least some pressure for that,” Mr. Greenhut said. The new Trump administration could also push the state to approve direct water distribution paths, such as the proposed but disputed 45-mile water tunnel project now tied up in the state’s bureaucracy.

The federal government, he said, could also help speed up aggressive forest management such as controlled burns, thinning of vegetation and tree removal that experts believe would help curb the state’s intense wildfires. Nearly half of the state’s land is owned by federal agencies. Fire mitigation in forests requires several layers of approval and is often challenged by lawsuits.