Remember when former President Donald Trump suggested cleaning up the forest floors to reduce wildfires and all of the liberals laughed at him? Turns out that’s exactly what’s necessary to keep wildfires from spreading rapidly.
Every year, the west coast deals with wildfires because they refuse to do anything to control them. They don’t invest in enough supplies, they don’t do enough to minimize the brush – and then, they expect the rest of the country to stop what they’re doing in order to offer assistance.
California has gotten itself into quite the pickle this time because it’s not just wildfires they’re dealing with. They’ve also been dealing with water shortages due to the drought. When there’s a water shortage, people are told to limit their water usage in their homes. It leads to drier lawns, shorter showers, and potentially even less potable water to consume.
And the wildfires are only making things worse…
In New Mexico, the Calf Canyon-Hermits Peak wildfire hit earlier this month. After battling it, they had another issue to contend with. Ash-filled erosion was polluting their water.
Luckily, the officials in New Mexico noticed that there was a problem before it became devastating. They diverted as much of their river water from the Gallinas River downstream before the rain, which would wash burnt ash and topsoil into the river.
Mayor Louie Trujillo of Las Vegas, NM explained to CNN “There were large portions of the watershed you can see that are completely burned. It looks like burnt toothpicks sticking out of the ground for acres and acres. With the soil instability, during a heavy rain event, it would be like putting water on a bunch of baby powder where it doesn’t absorb at all; it just falls.”
This is a problem that Trujillo points out – and cities all over the west coast are beginning to realize the problem. Megafires do so much more than burn trees, displace wildlife, and burn down homes. It also destabilizes the soil. Then, once it rains, charred sediment makes its way into the reservoirs and rivers, causing problems with the drinking water.
The Gallinas River in New Mexico supplies approximately 90 percent of the water for the people of Las Vegas.
The Placer County Water Agency’s general manager, Andy Fecko, in Auburn, California explains that the water ends up tasting like dirt. He’s the one who oversees the water treatment for a city that sits between Lake Tahoe and Sacramento. The water is 10 to 20 times dirtier, so the treatment costs are considerably higher.
It seems that some of the liberal states like California have been using their federal funding all wrong. Rather than creating progressive programs to benefit the few, they need to fund the water treatment plants – and they need to do everything they can to stabilize the soil.
We’re just starting to come into wildfire season. And this is on top of a drought. The devastation could be immeasurable. And yet, it’s as if California isn’t even planning for this.
The Environmental Protection Agency isn’t ignorant. They know that the health impacts of dirt and ash in the water along with the charred organic compounds are dangerous. And yet, there’s really not enough being done.
If anything, the struggles of Flint, Michigan should have taught the Democrats a few valuable lessons. While it’s not lead, it may actually be worse.
As Fecko says, “You simply cannot filter out the taste and odor.”
Well, it’s no wonder why so many people are moving from liberal cities into more conservative ones across the U.S.
