The new year heralded the undeniable, devastative effects of climate change. At the start of this month, Los Angeles experienced a series of wildfires. Thousands of residents have lost their homes, and the current damage is estimated to be upwards of $800 billion. California Gov. Newsom isn’t only dealing with a natural disaster, though, with President Donald Trump and members of his incoming government jumping on the opportunity to denounce Newsom’s leadership.

With seven total fires, the death toll has climbed to 24, but a Fast Company article asserts that the disaster could result in thousands of deaths due to toxic smoke. According to CBS, more than 12,000 structures have been destroyed, and 60 square miles scorched. 92,000 LA citizens were ordered to evacuate. An LA Times article reported that the wildfires have resulted in a “16-fold rise in hospital visits for fire-related injuries.” Additionally, the article predicts that the lingering chemicals in the area will likely be a long-term health concern. 

The impacts of the fires extend beyond just LA, though; students at South shared their families’ experiences. “My family is pretty lucky, they weren’t affected too badly, but I know a lot of people who lost their homes,” South senior Rio Long, who has family in LA, said. “Other places, like even if their house didn’t get burned down, I’m hearing the smoke and the fumes of all the burned houses and the burned asbestos makes the neighboring neighborhoods uninhabitable, at least for now.”

Unfortunately, the fires have already become a political gambit, with Trump using them as an opportunity to criticize Newsom. Despite ongoing suffering in LA, Trump launched a series of Truth Social posts slamming the California governor, writing, “I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this.” Trump has also dubbed Newsom as “Newscum”.

Newsom responded in a CNN interview, saying, “People are literally fleeing, people have lost their lives, kids lost their schools, families completely torn asunder, churches burned down – this guy wanted to politicize it.”

Trump wasn’t alone in taking the opportunity to slam Newsom. 

“There was a serious lack of competent governance in California,” Vice President JD Vance said in a Fox News interview, “and I think it’s part of the reason why these fires have gotten so bad.” 

That said, it is valuable to evaluate the state government’s ability to respond to this emergency. According to CNN, many firefighters reported that fire hydrants in affected areas had run dry. Despite this, Greg Pierce, a water-resource expert at UCLA, wasn’t confident that any water source in the entire world could handle the disaster. Ultimately, partisan politics aren’t causing the LA fires, climate change is. As the climate crisis continues to intensify, catastrophes like these are expected to become more frequent. Climate researchers refer to the LA fires as an example of “hydroclimate whiplash,” when climates rapidly change between intense dry and wet periods. A paper published by Nature Reviews found that this phenomenon is occurring at increasing rates across the world. The combination of thick, dry vegetation and strong winds stoked the flames of LA’s climate disaster and political controversy.

Article by Zev Wacks