Neil Young Loses House to California Wildfires
Neil Young has lost his home to the wildfires devastating Northern and Southern California. In a new statement posted on the Neil Young Archives site, Young criticized president Donald Trump’s inappropriate reactions to the wildfires, discussed the severity of climate change, and confirmed the loss of his house. “Firefighters have never seen anything like this in their lives,” Young wrote. “I have heard that said countless times in the past two days, and I have lost my home before to a California fire, now another.” Pitchfork has reached out to Neil Young’s representatives for further comment.
Young’s post referenced the president’s controversial tweet that blamed California’s “gross mismanagement” for the carnage caused by the wildfires, which have amassed at least 25 deaths, the destruction of over 6,700 structures, and caused the displacement of hundreds of thousands so far. “California is vulnerable—not because of poor forest management as DT (our so-called president) would have us think,” Young said. “We are vulnerable because of Climate Change; the extreme weather events and our extended drought is part of it.”
Young continued: “Imagine a leader who defies science, saying these solutions shouldn’t be part of his decision-making on our behalf. Imagine a leader who cares more for his own, convenient opinion than he does for the people he leads.” Read the full post here.
Other artists have also been affected by the wildfires, including Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, who lost gear in Malibu. Limp Bizkit’s Wes Borland lost guitars and other music equipment to the natural disaster.
