Jay Inslee is doubling down on his false claim that climate change is responsible for the devastating Spokane-area wildfires after authorities arrested a convicted murderer on suspicion of intentionally starting one of the blazes. “When you hear ‘suspected arson,’ it’s easy to think, ‘that wildfire has nothing to do with climate change,'” Inslee wrote on X. But two things can be true at once: bad actors may start fires, and climate change creates the conditions that turn them into disasters.” The posts came a day after Inslee declared on social media that the Spokane fires showed climate change was “happening right now” as thousands of residents fled their homes. Additionally, DNR officials have consistently argued that reducing hazardous fuel loads through mechanical thinning, prescribed burning, and other active management is essential to making eastern Washington forests more resilient.