They'd burn right through it anyway.

How many times would Florida, Louisiana, etc need help until they fix the hurricane problem? There's definitely situations that people create that makes them much more susceptible to natural disasters, and I would go along with the "fix the problem" approach if this is the point you are making.

The irony of course is that the fire that caused him to say that was on federal land. I.e. he is the leader of the organization that is responsible for preventing fires on that land.