California congressman: 'Climate change has wreaked havoc on us'
Rep. Dave Min (D-Calif.) pointed to climate change as a significant contributor to the rapid spread of wildfires in California in an interview on NewsNation's "The Hill Sunday."
Min, a new member of Congress, said he spent the last two years chairing the California State Senate's Natural Resources and Water Committee, where he looked closely at the issues of wildfires and water supply.
“We were very aware of the fire risks in Southern California and Northern California,” Min said of his time on the committee.
“And what has happened is that climate change has dried out our foliage, our flora,” Min said. “And coupled with these massive winds … these 50 to 100 miles an hour winds that happen every year around this time, a little ember can turn into a massive fire.”
Min said firefighters have difficulty knowing where to deploy resources because the winds can take the fires in unpredictable directions.
“It's very difficult for firefighters to respond to these. They don't know where the fire might go. They don't know where to deploy their resources. You can't deploy some of the aerial responses you're seeing. And our water systems, frankly, are not designed to fight fires on this scale,” Min said.
“And that's true whether it's in California, [in] Colorado we saw recently where a similar thing happened, in Maui last year,” he continued. “So climate change has wreaked havoc on us.”
Min, whose district is near some of the decimated areas in Los Angeles, said it's important for leaders and community members to come together and not be so quick to cast blame.
“There may be blame to go around, but I'll just emphasize now is not the time to be pointing fingers. Right now is the time to be coming together. Our firefighters are out there, thousands of them, working 24 hours. They're tired. They're exhausted. They don't need finger-pointing right now. They need help.”
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