Among the most popular climate-alarmist “gotchas” today is the remarkable increase in wildfires. Granted, it hasn’t happened yet but never mind. A key bit of scorched earth for them is Pacific Palisades and surrounding parts of Los Angeles, burned to a crisp in January 2025. The inept response of authorities, including the empty reservoir, had already drawn much critical attention, including from us. But now, as PJ Media reports, documents filed in a civil lawsuit against the state show an order had been given by the state mere weeks before the Palisades Fire that “directed a let it burn fire management plan,” meaning “don’t put out the fire”. Even if people lived there. And without telling them. And here you blamed our carbon.

The PJ Media story is damning if true, and it looks true:

“The document, issued ‘just weeks before the Jan. 7 wildfire,’ outlined so-called ‘Avoidance Areas’ that would not receive robust, but only ‘modified fire suppression’ in case of fire. And the directive about where these ‘Avoidance Areas’ were was to remain secret from the public, according to a New York Post report.”

When the New York Times bangs on about how “home insurance prices have increased drastically, particularly in areas most exposed to climate-related risk” our immediate response is that correlation is not causation and that possibly the areas they consider “most exposed to climate-related risk” are also most prone to progressive politics that drives up costs for firms and thus consumers with reckless ignorance. But it gets worse because, the new “Climate Forward” piece says:

“the research showed something new and equally worrisome: The effects of the higher rates are spilling over into the broader real estate market, suppressing home prices in the ZIP codes most vulnerable to hurricanes and wildfires.”

Vulnerable to wildfires, you say? Like Los Angeles, perhaps? Oh yes:

“We heard many horror stories about rate increases in places like Florida and California, where insurance markets have been turbulent for years.”

Turbulent since long before climate change kicked in, presumably. And now listen:

“But we also heard similar anecdotes out of states like Ohio, Maryland and Massachusetts, where disasters are less frequent but homeowners say they’re seeing rates climb by 30 percent or more year after year.”

And who, pray, sets the rules for insurance firms in all these places other than Florida? Why, people like Gavin Newsom, even when they don’t also set fire non-suppression policies.