Oh, now Gavin Newsom wants to act on wildfires? Now that entire communities have been reduced to ash, now he’s ready to cut through the bureaucratic red tape? Well, isn’t that just so convenient.
Let’s be real—this so-called “state of emergency” should have been declared months ago, before the Palisades and Eaton fires devastated Los Angeles. But instead of taking preventative action, Newsom waited until the damage was already done. And then, when he finally made his grand proclamation, his press release practically admitted he was reacting to the disaster, not preventing the next one. Oops!
And what’s his big solution? Well, he’s suspending CEQA (the California Environmental Quality Act) and the Coastal Act, two of the very regulations that have been slowing down fire prevention efforts for years.
You know, the same regulations Newsom and his allies have fiercely defended when conservatives suggested they were getting in the way of common-sense wildfire prevention.
But wait—it gets better. Newsom’s office tried to frame this as part of an ongoing effort to make California more resilient to wildfires. His statement actually referenced his 2019 wildfire prevention initiatives as proof that he’s been on top of this issue.
Here’s the problem: those 2019 efforts didn’t do much of anything. In fact, in 2021, Capital Public Radio exposed just how little Newsom had actually accomplished. His administration vastly overstated the effectiveness of its wildfire prevention programs, and much of the promised brush clearance never even happened.
So here we are again, another round of devastating fires, another round of Newsom scrambling to act like he’s doing something, and another round of his policies lagging way behind reality.
And let’s not forget the irony here. President Donald Trump spent years urging Newsom to ramp up brush clearance, conduct controlled burns, and stop letting environmental regulations tie the state’s hands. Newsom and his fellow Democrats mocked him for it. They dismissed the idea that California’s fire problem was a management issue and instead blamed it all on climate change.
And yet…what’s Newsom doing now? Finally allowing more brush clearance. Finally permitting controlled burns. Finally letting private companies (gasp!) step in and help.
Funny how that works, isn’t it?
