• Gov. Gavin Newsom of California discussed the state’s efforts to curb wildfires over the holiday weekend, and emphasized that most wildfires are avoidable.

“As you can see from this chart, just shy of 5,000 fires this time year-to-date in 2019; already over 7,500, in fact 7,606, wildfires so far in 2020. The new active fires that have come up over the course of the weekend, the El Dorado getting a lot of attention because it’s a reminder that the vast majority of fires that we experience on an annual basis come from individuals making bad decisions, or by simple neglect and accident. Meaning 90-plus, 90- plus percent of the fires that we experienced in the state of California on an annual basis are man-made fires. It is not lost on anybody, particularly those that had to weather the weather over the course of this long holiday weekend, that we experienced yet another massive record-breaking heat wave over the last three days. Highest temperatures ever recorded. As an example, in Los Angeles County 121 degrees, Death Valley — cool by historic standards. You recall Death Valley had a 130-degree record historic, arguably world-record, temperature a few weeks back.”

Source: Gavin Newsom, The New York Times

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