The Pacific Northwest is covered in smoke. There are fires burning in California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Instead of addressing how and why we got to this place – where wildfires are far more common than not – politicians like California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee (D) are quick to blame the phenomenon on "climate change." Instead of talking about how the states fail to properly manage the forest by thinning out trees, cutting down dead trees and prescribing controlled burns, they instantly jump to the climate change narrative.
In fact, Inslee sees this as a climate change issue so much that he believes we should rename wildfires to "climate fires."
"Right now we have a state this is just a tinderbox and the reason is because of the low humidity, the high temperatures, and, obviously, the winds," Inslee said during a press conference on Friday. "And these are conditions that are becoming much more frequent in our state. That's why three of the last five years we've had some of the worst fires in our state's history. And we know that is because our environment is changing. Our climate is changing. These are not just wildfires. These are climate fires."
"And we cannot, and we will not, surrender our state and expose people to have their homes burned down and their lives lost because of climate fires," he said.
These are not just wildfires. These are climate fires. pic.twitter.com/P4DQ9EO2EP
— Jay Inslee (@JayInslee) September 12, 2020
In another interview, Inslee said Americans must refer to these as "climate fires" because "that's what makes the conditions so explosive."
.@JayInslee is right: We shouldn't call them wildfires. We must call them "climate fires." Because that's what they are.
— Climate Power (@ClimatePower) September 11, 2020
WATCH Gov. Inslee explain the connection between the fires in his state of Washington and the #climatecrisis: pic.twitter.com/P1CVFIf6fg
According to KHQ, Washington State is seeing the second worst fire season on record, with more than 980 square miles burned over the last week.
As Seattle radio host Jason Randtz said: Democrats are in total control in Washington State. If they felt compelled to address the "climate crisis," they have the power to do so. Why haven't they then?
Dems have total control of the House, Senate, and Governor's office in Washington. The two bills last session for much needed forest management resources? Dems didn't move them out of committee. Now, Inslee blames climate change to make up for his failures. https://t.co/XQYAM82uis
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) September 12, 2020
Then there's also an issue that has nothing to do with climate change: arson.
A woman in Spokane was arrested for starting fires on the east side of town. Officers went to investigate multiple fires and noticed there were items, like a pallet with grass, on fire. A couple blocks away an oil drum by a garage and a few trees was on fire. In both instances, the fires couldn't have started due to downed powerlines from a windstorm. The only logical conclusion was arson, YakTriNews reported.