“Interior Alaska Is Burning. Our Safety Shouldn’t Be Up for Debate.”
For those in the Interior, this weekend’s apocalyptic sky and constant buzzing of our phones about yet another fire evacuation alert was a stark reflection of where we find ourselves in the fight for a livable climate. Over the weekend, Interior residents faced soaring temperatures and a rapid explosion of wildfires close to many residential communities and affecting most of the land routes in and out of town. Many of us remain on evacuation notice, and all of us have been breathing dangerously high levels of smoke. Alaska is warming at over 2x the rate of the lower 48, and those in the Interior are cripplingly aware of that impact. Meanwhile, Governor Dunleavy has vetoed nearly $27 million for fire suppression funding, saying “...we will be scrutinizing every aspect of the budget, every line out of the budget, and we are going to make sure that those things that are absolutely necessary will be in the budget. And those things that we can live without… will probably be removed.”
Dunleavy continues to defund critical services, lying about the need for these cuts to cover up the fact that he is bleeding public money straight into the pockets of oil and gas mega-corporations. Last week, Dunleavy vetoed bipartisan legislation that would address “persistent pattern of obstruction within the senior ranks of Alaska’s Department of Revenue.” Senator Bill Wielechowski posted an article about the veto on bluesky, saying “Mysteriously, tax settlements have dropped by hundreds of millions of dollars under Dunleavy. Several months ago a former Dunleavy Deputy Commissioner wrote that he was told ‘point blank’ he was ‘expected to violate statute to enrich oil companies on public money they weren't legally entitled to.’”
Dunleavy is incapacitating the critical services we need to address the dangerous climate impacts created by the very oil companies he is enriching through both above and below board tax giveaways. It’s time to plug the leak. If you’re also maddened by the blatant corruption and carelessness toward human life and safety, sign up for our newsletter and get involved with the Keep it In the Ground! Working Group to fight the corporate welfare system that continues to harm our health and safety.
