California officials say climate change is to blame for the deadly wildfires burning in the state for nearly a month

The wildfires that have killed at least 36 people and burned through more than 4.6 million acres on the West Coast are fueled by climate change, officials in California and Washington said again on Monday.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee all reiterated that the fires in their states are the result of the climate crisis, challenging assertions from President Donald Trump that they were the result of poor land management.

There are 87 active fires burning across the US West Coast, including at least 25 large fires are burning in the California, according to the National Interagency Fire Center

‘Climate change is real’

During a briefing Monday, Newsom said that record breaking temperatures and drought conditions, which have fueled the recent fires, have been going on for years because of climate change. He emphasized the importance of addressing climate change while also battling the fires.

“Climate change is real,” said Newsom, who met with Trump on Monday.

“It’s about acknowledging science, not about believing in facts or not believing in facts, facts are facts. Science is science, it’s about acknowledging the science and acknowledging the facts,” Newsom said. “The hots are getting a lot hotter, the dries are getting a lot drier.”

Newsom said the meeting was an opportunity to remind the President that 57% of the forested land in the state of California is under federal jurisdiction, while just 3% is under the state’s control.

He said it should be the joint responsibility of the state and federal government to do more on vegetation management and forest management.

“We can’t do this alone,” Newsom said. “We’re going to need the federal government to step up in substantial ways.”

Garcetti echoed that sentiment Monday.

“Our federal agencies do step up and do help us and do know that we need their assistance,” Garcetti said to CNN’s Anderson Cooper on “AC360,” adding that he believes the President is assigning blame to the state based on political motivations.

“The leader at the very top continues based on the electoral map to either, you know, put down California for not raking enough,” Garcetti said. “He doesn’t say anything like that in a swing state. In the gulf coast, he doesn’t assign the blame for the hurricanes or anything that they have done. It seems partisan at a moment that we should be non-political and that we should be finding our common ground in America.”

“Denial doesn’t work when it comes to climate, ” Garcetti said. “The cost of denial is that people lose their lives and their livelihoods.”

Dozens killed and missing in fires

At least 25 people have died in the California wildfires. The most deadly, the North Complex Fire, has claimed 15 lives and grown to more than 260,000 acres across four counties.

On Monday, the Butte County Sheriff’s office identified seven victims killed in Berry Creek, who ranged in age from 16 to 79.

Fatalities have already been recorded in Oregon and Washington, where multiple fires are creating smoky conditions and poor visibility.

Nearly 1 million acres have burned in Oregon, according to the state’s fire dashboard, which also shows that 10 people have died.

“Sadly, we have now learned of 10 fire related fatalities as confirmed by our state medical examiner. I am at a loss reports over these deaths,” Gov. Kate Brown said during a news conference Monday, adding that she and her husband are “holding these families in our hearts during this extremely difficult time.”

As firefighters continue to battle multiple blazes, authorities have reported 22 people are missing the state, an update from the state’s Office of Emergency Management said Monday.

“As of today, there have been 22 individuals reported missing associated with these fires,” Emergency Management Director Andrew Phelps said Monday.

“If you’re concerned for missing family, please report that concern to the local law enforcement entity,” Phelps said.

He also encouraged people who are evacuating to register with the American Red Cross so that officials and loved ones will know that they are safe.

Smoke conditions choking Washington

There are currently nine large wildfires burning in Washington state, the two largest — the Pearl Hill and Cold Springs fires — are burning adjacent to one another and have so far collectively scorched 412,582 acres as of Monday night, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

Thick smoke has blanketed much of the region, walled in by mountain ranges that line the Pacific Northwest.

“At the moment virtually the entire state is covered by a cloud of smoke that’s unbelievably irritating, downright unhealthy and dangerous,” Inslee told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Monday night on the “Situation Room.”

“We’ve had dozens and dozens and dozens of homes burned down, had entire towns destroyed,” Inslee said, adding that the state had “lost one beautiful child.”

“That is a tragedy,” he said. The governor said his state and others are seeing the effects of climate change during this fire season.

‘”This is such a disaster in any dimension but a particular disaster because we had our state turned into a tinder box by climate change,” Insle said. “We have grass now that’s almost like gasoline. A spark will make it explode. We have fires that just create walls of fire 20, 30 feet high from grass and sage brush.”

The fires from grass and sage brush has “consumed whole towns,” Inslee said.

Malden, in eastern Washington, saw 80% of its buildings destroyed in a firestorm Labor Day weekend.

The fire took out several homes and civic offices including the fire station, post office, city hall and library, the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Post offices close temporarily because of fires

Dozens of United States Post Service (USPS) offices have had to temporarily close because of wildfires and high winds in the west, according to the postal service’s website.

Twelve locations have been shut down in both California and Oregon, and one location in Washington.

The USPS website is directing customers to other locations to pick up their mail and packages.