As a 25-year resident of Santa Clarita, a California Institute of the Arts alumnus, a community volunteer, and a father of twin daughters, protecting our community from extreme heat, poor air quality, and climate-related disasters is deeply important to me.
Since 1993, when I came to this valley, I have watched it contend with increasingly severe heat, worsening air quality and more frequent wildfire threats. Last year, my family received evacuation warnings as fires approached our neighborhood in Haskell Canyon. Today, as many of us monitor the Bouquet Fire, we are reminded once again how vulnerable our community can be.
The smoke in our skies, the evacuation warnings on our phones, and the fire threats at our doorstep remind us this issue is not happening somewhere else. It is happening here, in our backyard. My daughters have grown up under wildfire alerts, smoky skies, and days when outdoor activities were limited because of poor air quality. No parent wants to wonder whether the air their children breathe is safe.
The 10 hottest years ever recorded globally have all occurred within the past decade. Climate change is not some hoax or challenge for the future. It is here now. While wildfires are influenced by many factors, scientists have repeatedly shown that rising temperatures and prolonged drought conditions make fires more frequent, more intense, and more destructive.
Climate change is not just affecting temperature charts or political debates. It threatens our homes, our health, and our future. It spoils the quality of the air we breathe and heightens the risks facing our neighborhoods each fire season.
Sometimes it feels overwhelming to me, but history shows that change happens when ordinary people work together and make their voices heard. Communities have solved difficult challenges before, and we can do so again. We have practical solutions available today, including investments in clean energy, energy efficiency, and technologies that reduce pollution while creating jobs and strengthening our economy.
The Santa Clarita Valley has always been resilient. We look out for one another during emergencies, support our neighbors, and come together when challenges arise. Saugus knows how community can heal a crisis. Climate change deserves that same spirit of community action.
As leaders step forward in this election cycle to ask for our vote, we must ask them to fight for clean energy investments in solar, wind and energy efficiency at the state and federal levels. These restorative tools will protect our health, drive billions into the economy, and create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
For the sake of our families, our community, and the generations that follow, let’s meet this challenge together and hold our leaders accountable to our needs.
Jason Price
Saugus
