Oregon state senator who stopped climate change vote loses home to wildfire

Legislation intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions dramatically by 2050

An Oregon Republican state senator who previously prevented a vote on a climate change bill, has had his house destroyed in wildfires.

Fred Girod was one of 11 Oregon state senators who refused to turn up to the state Capitol in June 2019, which prevented quorum for a vote on climate change legislation.

The bill was an attempt to pass a cap-and-trade proposal, which would set a limit on pollution and aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions dramatically by 2050 and help combat climate change in the state, according to Labor411. 

The 69-year-old, alongside 11 of his colleagues refused to attend the session, which prevented the 18 Democratic state senators from reaching quorum, which needed 20 officials present.

The Oregon state Democrats attempted to pass a similar bill by working with Mr Girod earlier this year, but he quit the project and accused them of making “fake concessions”.

On Monday, Oregon Live reported that Mr Girod’s house was destroyed in the wildfires that have devastated large parts of the state and the US West Coast.

Mr Girod was initially turned away when he attempted to visit his local area to assess the damage over the weekend, as the wildfires continued to rage across the state.

Speaking to Oregon Live, Mr Girod said “it hurts,” but added: “My job is to know what’s happening in the district,” and “I need to be able to assess the damage.”

States across the US West Coast, including California and Washington, have been ravaged by wildfires over the last few weeks, and Oregon, which would usually be unaffected to this scale because of its cooler climate compared to other areas, has been badly hit.

In response to the wildfires across the west coast, the Associated Press reported that scientists, along with the governors of Oregon, California and Washington, have all said that climate change is the reason for the widespread damage in recent weeks.

They reported that plants and trees dying out due to climate change are partly behind the unprecedented fires, and that the level of pollution needs to be tackled to prevent repeated incidents.

After president Donald Trump blamed forest management for the wildfires, California governor Gavin Newsom angrily told him that “climate change is real, and that is exacerbating this.

“Please respect, and I know you do, the difference of opinion out here as it relates to this fundamental issue...of climate change.”

In a campaign speech on Monday, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden echoed Mr Newsom and claimed in reference to the president: “If you give a climate arsonist four more years in the White House, why would anyone be surprised if we have more of America ablaze?”

He added: “If you give a climate denier four more years in the White House, why would anyone be surprised when more of America is underwater?”

As the wildfires have spread, at least 10 people have been killed in Oregon, 24 have lost their lives in California, and one person has died in Washington state.

Wildfires are still raging across Oregon, and two separate fires in Portland might merge, although firefighters have said that they would cause less damage than last week’s wildfires.