FILE - In this July 16, 2018 file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, talks with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto as they pose for a photo in Helsinki, Finland. Niinisto said in an interview published... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this July 16, 2018 file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, talks with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto as they pose for a photo in Helsinki, Finland. Niinisto said in an interview published on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018 that he briefed Trump in the wake of the California wildfires on how... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this July 16, 2018 file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, talks with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto as they pose for a photo in Helsinki, Finland. Niinisto said in an interview published on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018 that he briefed Trump in the wake of the California wildfires on how... (Associated Press) FILE - In this July 16, 2018 file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, talks with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto as they pose for a photo in Helsinki, Finland. Niinisto said in an interview published... (Associated Press) 
 
 HELSINKI (AP) — Finland's president isn't sure where U.S. President Donald Trump got the idea that raking is part of his country's routine for managing its substantial forests. 
 
 Trump told reporters Saturday while visiting the ruins of the Northern California town where a fire killed at least 76 people that wildfires weren't a problem in Finland because crews "spend a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things" to clear forest floors. 
 
 Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said in an interview published Sunday in the Ilta-Sanomat newspaper that he spoke briefly with Trump about forest management on Nov. 11, when they both were in Paris for Armistice Day events. 
 
 Niinisto said their conversation focused on the California wildfires and the surveillance system Finland uses to monitor forests for fires. He remembered telling Trump "We take care of our forests," but couldn't recall raking coming up. 
 
 The U.S. leader's comment generated amusement on social media in Finland, which manages its vast forests with scientific seriousness. 
 
 Forests cover over 70 percent of Finland's 338,000 square kilometers. The Nordic country with a population of 5.5 million is home to some of the world's biggest paper and pulp companies. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Donald Trump tells reporters Finland rakes its forests 
 
 Finns have been baffled by US President Donald Trump's comments praising the country for managing its vast forests by raking. 
 
 Citing a conversation with his Finnish counterpart, Mr Trump said they spend "a lot of time on raking and cleaning". 
 
 But President Sauli Niinisto told a Finnish daily he could not remember talking about raking when the two met. 
 
 Firefighters in California are currently battling the deadliest blaze in the state's history. 
 
 Nearly 1,000 people remain on a list of people reported as missing, authorities say. 
 
 The number of believed missing fell 283 late on Sunday, down from 1,276 people, they say, but gave no other details. 
 
 Heavy rain is forecast in the coming days and could complicate efforts to find victims' remains, but will bring relief to firefighters on the front lines. 
 
 Forest nation 
 
 Surveying the damage on Saturday, Mr Trump revisited his claim that poor forest management was to blame. 
 
 "You look at other countries where they do it differently, and it's a whole different story," he said. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Drone footage shows complete devastation in the Californian town of Paradise 
 
 "I was with the president of Finland, and he said: 'We have a much different [sic]..., we're a forest nation.' And they spent a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things, and they don't have any problem," he added. 
 
 But Sauli Niinisto told the Ilta-Sanomat newspaper raking had not come up when they talked. 
 
 "I mentioned [to] him that Finland is a land covered by forests and we also have a good monitoring system and network," he said. 
 
 The forestry director of the Finnish Forest Association, Heikki Savolainen, told the newspaper that raking was not usually a forest-management measure. 
 
 "Those statements were very interesting. I see raking only in my own yard. It belongs to yards and parks," he said. 
 
 Finns have been posting pictures of themselves online raking local forests, joking about "raking America great again". ||||| NBA 
 
 Lauri Markkanen julkaisi Donald Trumpia piikittelevän kuvan – on harava kädessä hyvällä asialla 
 
 Mainos (Teksti jatkuu alla) Mainos päättyy
– Finland's president isn't sure where President Trump got the idea that raking is part of his country's routine for managing its substantial forests. Trump told reporters Saturday while visiting the ruins of the northern California town where a fire killed at least 76 people that wildfires weren't a problem in Finland because crews "spend a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things" to clear forest floors. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said in an interview published Sunday in the Ilta-Sanomat newspaper that he spoke briefly with Trump about forest management on Nov. 11, when they both were in Paris for Armistice Day events. Niinisto said their conversation focused on the California wildfires and the surveillance system Finland uses to monitor forests for fires, the AP reports. He remembered telling Trump that "we take care of our forests," but couldn't recall raking coming up. Trump's comment generated amusement on social media in Finland, which manages its vast forests with scientific seriousness. Some posted pictures of themselves raking the forests and joked about "raking America great again," while others pointed out that they "don't exactly manicure" the forests that cover more than 70% of the country, the BBC reports. (Trump said seeing the devastation Saturday didn't change his mind about climate change.)