Gavin Newsom at Ash-Strewn Wildfire Site: 'The Debate Is Over Around Climate Change'
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), without evidence, declared Friday that the ongoing wildfires in his state prove the science surrounding global warming is now officially settled.
“The debate is over around climate change. Just come to the state of California, observe it with your own eyes,” a grinning Newsom told reporters while touring the fire-ravaged North Complex near Oroville. “It’s not an intellectual debate, it’s not even debatable.”
CA Gov. Gavin Newsom: "The debate is OVER around climate change." pic.twitter.com/ATFQQWOpsa
— The Hill (@thehill) September 11, 2020
“We’re in the midst of a climate emergency, we’re in the midst of a climate crisis,” he continued. “We’re experiences weather conditions the likes of which we’ve never experienced in our lifetime. We’re experiencing what so many people predicted decades and decades ago. All of that now is reality.”
At the site of the North Complex Fire today, Governor @GavinNewsom signed @AsmReyes47's #AB2147 eliminating barriers that prevent former inmate fire crews from pursuing a career as a firefighter once they served their time. #CaliforniaForAllpic.twitter.com/tT3D18UJWK
— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) September 11, 2020
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday that the August Complex Fire has burned 471,185 acres in the Elk Creek and Stonyford area, surpassing the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire, which burned 459,123 acres.
Six of the largest fires in California’s history have taken place in 2020. Cal Fire said 29 major wildfires are active and more than 3.1 million acres have burned in the state since the beginning of the season.
The National Interagency Fire Center said 102 large fires have burned a combined 4.4 million acres in 12 states in the western United States, resulting in some two dozen deaths in California, Oregon, and Washington.
In California, five people were killed in the LNU Lightning Complex, 10 were killed in the North Complex, and one each was killed in the CZU August Lightning Complex, August Lightning Complex, Tatham Fire, and Hills Fires.
The UPI contributed to this report.