West’s Raging Wildfires Defy Trump Decree Intended to Curb Them

After a series of deadly wildfires in 2018 scorched California, President Donald Trump ordered his federal agencies to do a better job of managing the vast federal forests under their care.

The executive order, issued in the wake of a fire season that included a blaze that killed 85 people in Paradise, California, instructed the departments of Interior and Agriculture to harvest more than 4 billion board feet of timber, clear underbrush and take other steps to deny fuel to wildfires.

But critics say this year’s voracious fire season -- which has destroyed homes, killed dozens and ruined air ...