Humboldt County has become the focal point of the climate change crisis recently, as North Coast Congress member Jared Huffman and United States Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, visited the area to highlight the negative implications of climate change as well as the natural solutions the county offers.
Firefighters are currently battling the Monument Fire, burning east in Trinity County. Huffman, who represents Humboldt County federally as part of California’s 2nd district, visited the base camp in Willow Creek on the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 11. He received a briefing from officials who talked about containment efforts and the struggles firefighters face from lack of resources and personnel.
At the time of publication, the Monument Fire currently sits at over 130,000 acres, with 10% containment.
In the afternoon, Huffman joined Secretary Haaland at Wolf Creek Education center in Redwood National Park to highlight efforts by national and state park services, local agencies such as Save the Redwoods, and tribal groups in combating climate change via forest restoration practices and carbon sequestration.
The day prior, Secretary Haaland visited Woodley Island on Humboldt Bay to highlight plans for offshore wind energy development.
This visit comes fresh off a recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Aug. 9, which warns of unprecedented warming patterns if greenhouse gas emissions are not drastically reduced.
