…The argument, in short, was that California’s progressive values, particularly its embrace of LGBTQ+ rights and the protection of women’s rights, had angered God, and in response, He was punishing the state with fire. The comparison immediately struck me as absurd, not only because of its unsubstantiated religious implications but because it ignored the complex reality of wildfires, especially in a state like California. But more importantly, it made me wonder: If California’s progressive stances really had invited divine wrath, what about the conservative states that were also suffering from natural disasters? After all, hurricanes like Helene and Milton had...