By 10 am on this October 16, 2020 morning it was 70 degrees with no wind in Trinidad, California. Trinidad is located 1.5 hours south of the Oregon border on the Northern CA Coast. As Baxter and I walked the headland there was hot air brushing across my face and arms. I was warm in a T-shirt and leggings. This is very unusual for us; normally our high this time of year would be in the 60 degree range. Today we are forecast a high of 75; Redding (to the east of us) is forecast to be 90. As I write this post it is 82 degrees in Trinidad. This does not bode well for fire season. It also means we will have a busy weekend with folks coming to the coast to escape the heat.

This morning I read that the current administration just denied the State of California’s request for disaster relief funds. Six wildfires have and are burning hundreds of thousands of acres. Many of those acres that are on fire are federal land. It all comes down to politics and CA is expected to give its electoral votes to former VP Joe Biden.

There seems to be some confusion at the White House. Just to be clear, almost 60 percent of the forests in California, 25 percent of the forests in Oregon, and 44 percent in Washington are national forests. So for the most part, the forests burning across the West—those same fires the president has blamed on state officials—are located on federal lands and are federal management issues.

California has a population of 39.51 million people which accounts for 12% of the USA. We produce a significant portion of America’s food supply with over 400 commodity crops and a large percent of the USA’s fruits and nuts. The denial of support by the current administration because of partisan politics is outrageous and unforgivable. We pay our fair share of taxes. Unfortunately our country is currently being led by partisan politics and climate change deniers. I’m not sure which planet they are living on but it is obviously in an alternative reality or universe. Please vote. Vote like your life depends on it, because this time, it really does.

I hope you enjoy my pics. I’ve also included a video clip of a banana slug in motion for those of you who were curious. #iluvtowalk #baxteronthego #climatechangeisreal #humboldt #trinidadcalifornia #vote

Amendment to this post: after obvious and considerable pressure (the election is just a few weeks away) #45 changed his mind one day later and agreed to grant California some disaster relief funds.

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