Maxwell Bernstein | September 16, 2020

The August Complex wildfires on the West Coast have resulted in more than five million acres burned, with 27 people dead, according to The New York Times. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced as the wildfires threaten and burn homes and communities. 

The wildfires are creating the worst air quality on the planet, according to the air quality tracker, PurpleAir.  

Climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of forest fires as warming temperatures create hot and dry conditions, according to NASA. Despite the scientific evidence, President Donald Trump and California Secretary for Natural Resources, Wade Crowfoot, debated over the validity of climate change. 

“It’ll start getting cooler. You just watch,” President Donald Trump said to Crowfoot, referring to the warming climate. 

“I wish science agreed with you,” said Crowfoot. 

“Well I don’t think science knows, actually,” replied President Donald Trump.