Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington called for the United States to “decarbonize” the economy in response to a wildfire that has burned over 10,000 acres near Spokane.
“Because the fact of the matter is there’s a beast at our door, and that’s the beast of climate change,” Inslee said in a video clip from a press conference that aired on MSNBC Monday. “It seems like the whole world is on fire.” (RELATED: ‘Are You Freaking Kidding Me?’: Former FEMA Head Blasts Hawaii Officials’ Focus On ‘Equity’ Prior To Fire)
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The Gray Fire had burned over 10,000 acres near Medicine Lake, a small town near the city of Spokane in eastern Washington, KIRO reported. Over 185 buildings have been destroyed by the blaze, which started Friday, according to KXLY.
“We need to defend ourselves from climate change,” Inslee said. “We need to decarbonize our economy so these fires don’t ravage us. There’s not enough fire trucks in the world to protect us if we don’t stop climate change.”
Inslee was not the only official to blame climate change for a deadly disaster. Democratic Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii blamed climate change for a deadly wildfire that destroyed many buildings in the town of Lahaina, killing at least 96 people as of Monday, according to The New York Times.
The West Maui Land Company accused M. Kaleo Manuel, an official with the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), of delaying a response to a request to use water to refill reservoirs used by the Maui Fire Department to fight the wildfire, Hawaii News Now reported. Herman Andaya, the director of the Maui Emergency Management Agency, resigned Thursday after the agency came under fire for not activating emergency sirens to warn people of the fires.
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