Newsom Declares State Of Emergency To clear Out Brush

California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a "state of emergency" for brush clearance ahead of peak fire season—but not before devastating wildfires tore through Los Angeles, leaving destruction in their wake.

The announcement, made on Saturday, came far too late to prevent the damage from the Palisades and Eaton fires, exposing yet another instance of California’s leadership reacting to crises instead of preventing them.

Newsom’s press statement acknowledged the recent destruction in L.A. but attempted to spin the declaration as a proactive measure.

"Following the devastation of the Los Angeles firestorms and with the risk of wildfire increasing statewide," the statement read, "Governor Gavin Newsom today proclaimed a state of emergency to fast-track critical projects protecting communities from wildfire, ahead of peak fire season."

The irony here is hard to miss. If such measures were necessary, why weren’t they enacted before entire neighborhoods were reduced to ash? Instead, Newsom’s emergency order lifts environmental restrictions—most notably suspending the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the Coastal Act—to allow private companies to clear brush more efficiently.

These are the same regulations that have long hindered wildfire prevention efforts, forcing controlled burns and brush removal projects to wade through years of bureaucratic red tape.

Newsom, however, insisted that his administration has been on top of wildfire prevention for years. He pointed to an executive order from last month and referenced his supposed “early action” in 2019 and 2020 as proof that California has been working diligently to combat wildfires. But those claims don’t hold up under scrutiny. A 2021 investigation by Capital Public Radio found that Newsom’s wildfire prevention efforts were vastly overstated, having little impact on actual brush clearance.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has long urged California to do more to clear dry vegetation and prevent wildfires from spreading out of control. His calls were often met with resistance or outright mockery from Newsom and other Democrats.

Now, with California’s fire crisis worsening, Newsom is quietly adopting the very policies he once dismissed—just too late to help those who have already lost their homes.