Fred Girod, an Oregon state Republican lawmaker who walked out, twice to stop the Democratic majority from passing a climate change bill has had his home destroyed by wildfires.
In June 2019, Girod was one of 11 Republican senators to walk out of the Senate so that a quorum could not be achieved for a cap-and-trade proposal that would dramatically lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to fight climate change.
When Democrats attempted to pass a new version of the cap-and-trade bill in February of this year, Republicans walked out again even after Democrats made concessions. Girod led the charge and accused the Democrats of making “fake concessions.”
As the fires continue to ravage the West Coast, governors of California, Washington, and Oregon have all blame climate change, according to the Associated Press.
But, not even Girod’s personal experience with the effects of climate change was able to change his mind. He blames the wildfires and the loss of his home on environmentalists.
“The wildfires burning throughout our beautiful state are the result of decades of failed leadership and the governor’s radical environmental agenda to appease special interests,” Girod said in a press release on Monday. He also wanted to know why the state’s Democratic Governor, Kate Brown didn’t make wildfire prevention a priority during the “two bogus emergency special sessions” this summer. According to KATU 2, those sessions were actually called to deal with police reform in the wake of George Floyd’s death and problems brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
A spokesperson for Gov. Brown refuted Girod’s claim.
“On the very first day of the February legislative session, Governor Brown urged the Legislature to pass her comprehensive wildfire response legislation, which would have put more boots on the ground and made more resources available to respond to this current emergency, including more firefighters, more planes in the air, and resources to help communities develop emergency evacuation plans — which are incredibly critical during wildfires, when every second counts,” Charles Boyle Gov. Brown’s spokesperson wrote in a statement.
He added that the plan which was aimed at reducing the severity of future wildfires by making long term investments into responsible forest thinning, died when Republicans walked out over the Democrats cap-and-trade bill.