A citywide sustainability coalition has taken the extraordinary step of publicly calling out Traci Park for denying climate change in the wake of the Palisades fire, and for good reason.
In a recent bulletin, the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance reminded Angelenos that Park stood before a cheering crowd at the “They Let Us Burn” rally and declared that the Palisades fire was not caused by climate change. “It wasn’t climate change, and don’t let anybody try to tell you otherwise,” Park said, dismissing what scientists, firefighters, and residents across California already know to be true.
The Sustainability Alliance did not mince words. While acknowledging that catastrophic fires have complex causes, the group emphasized that the climate crisis is undeniably one of them, and warned that ignoring this reality places communities in danger. Their message was clear: elected officials wield enormous influence, and climate denial from someone in power is not just wrong, it is irresponsible
This is not an academic disagreement. Los Angeles is actively grappling with how to prepare for longer fire seasons, extreme heat, drought, and cascading infrastructure failures. City agencies are drafting climate implementation plans. Neighborhood councils and environmental groups are pushing for habitat restoration, urban forestry, water conservation, and resilience investments. Against that backdrop, Park chose to publicly deny the role of climate change in the very fire that devastated her own district.
That choice matters. Climate denial from a councilmember sends a signal about priorities. It undermines science-based planning. It weakens urgency. And it reassures political allies who oppose meaningful climate action that denial remains acceptable, even after lives, homes, and entire neighborhoods have been upended by climate-fueled disaster.
The Sustainability Alliance’s decision to call Park out publicly reflects how dangerous this rhetoric has become. When community organizations dedicated to resilience feel compelled to correct an elected official, it is a sign of leadership failure, not activism run amok.
