Tipsheet

We Can't Believe Gavin Newsom Just Said This About California's Wildfire Management

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  July 22, 2026 3:30 PM

You have to admit that what Gavin Newsom lacks in brains and sound policy he makes up for in sheer hubris. That's the only reason that Newsom could say with a straight face that his state is a global model for fire management. Perhaps that's true in a sense; Canada was burning so much that people as far south as Virginia were seeing, smelling, and feeling the impacts.

That's because Canada, like California, refuses to do basic fire management like clearing brush and old growth. This is nothing to brag about, of course.

But brag Newsom did.

"I can say this with absolute conviction. We don't imitate; we're a model for others," Newsom said. "We have people coming from all over the United States and around the globe to look at what California is doing in orbit, in the air, and on the ground."

Many people stop to gawk at a train wreck.

Nope. And they never will be.

"Affordable housing" will go up in their place.

As easily as breathing.

What a model.

Great job, Gavin.

It's the same argument.

California is a cautionary tale.