Washington Governor Jay Inslee attributed the Spokane wildfire to climate change.
Posted by The Gerry Callahan Show, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 80%
The Gerry Callahan ShowAug 4, 2026
Inslee's own August 2, 2026 X post tied the Spokane fires to climate change ('It's happening right now'), and later coverage (KVI, KIRO/MyNorthwest, CNN) reports him defending that linkage after an arson arrest. He attributed the fire's size and destructiveness to climate-driven conditions, not its ignition, which the sources say remains under investigation.
The host relays this claim without endorsing it. It counts as passed on, not against the post.
What we found
Supports. Inslee's X post of August 2, 2026 said climate change 'isn't some faraway threat. It's happening right now' in the context of the three Spokane wildfires.[1][2]
Supports. After an arson arrest, Inslee wrote that drought, low snowpack and heat 'are why it's so big, destructive, and fast' and that climate change 'creates the conditions that turn them into disasters,' which KVI and MyNorthwest report as him defending his original linkage.[3][4]
Supports. CNN's coverage quotes former Gov. Inslee saying climate change is amplifying the destructiveness of the Spokane-area wildfires.[5]
Context. KVI labels Inslee's claim 'false' and says he prematurely blamed climate change before the cause was determined; this is an opinion-framed outlet judgment about causation, not a dispute over whether he made the attribution.[3]
Context. The sources show the claim concerns the Spokane fires, which officials said had unknown causes at the time of Inslee's post, and that one fire (Old Trails) was later linked to an arson arrest; this affects whether climate change caused ignition but not whether Inslee made the attribution.[6][7]
Sources
7 sources: 6 not rated, 1 tier 2
- 1Jay Insleex.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 2Climate Crisis Is Not 'Some Faraway Threat’: Spokane Inferno Forces Mass Evacuations as Oil Profits Surge | Common Dreamscommondreams.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 3Jay Inslee doubles down on false climate change claim ...kvi.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 4‘Virtue signaling': KIRO hosts debate former Gov. Jay Inslee linking Spokane fires to climate changemynorthwest.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Spokane, Washington wildfires; arson arrest made in ...edition.cnn.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Arson arrest made in connection to Washington wildfire as officials race to contain flames | CNNcnn.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 7If the Old Trails Fire was arson, climate change was its accomplicerangemedia.co · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post