During a Fox and Friends interview on September 15, 2020, Trump claimed that many nations, like Austria, had “forest cities” and had more “explosive” trees than the American West Coast, which was suffering from widespread forest fires.

Well look, Brian, you have forests all over the world. You don’t have fires like you do in California, you know. In Europe, they have forest cities. You look at — you look at countries — Austria. You look at so many countries, they live in the forest. They’re considered forest cities — so many of them.

And they don’t have fires like this and they have more explosive trees. They have trees that will catch easier. But they maintain their fire. They have an expression, they thin the fuel. The fuel is what’s on the ground — the leaves.

In response, an Austrian minister of agriculture made a statement correcting Trump, and emphasizing how the country lives “in a close, sustainable relationship with the natural environment.”

Trump previously suggested “raking and cleaning and doing things” to prevent forest fires and threatened to deny federal emergency funds for assistance. He also called climate change a Chinese hoax, and said he doesn’t think “science knows” while visiting California during the wildfires.

Snopes – Did Trump Say Wildfires Are Caused by Exploding Trees?
The Washington Post – Austrian minister to Trump: No, we do not live in forests
Independent – Austrian minister to Trump: No, we do not live in forests