Neil Young Reveals His Home Burned in California Wildfires, Bashes Donald Trump Over Environmental Causes

Neil Young was among the hundreds of thousands of Americans to lose their houses to California wildfires this weekend, and he went after President Donald Trump for his response.

Young’s home burned down in one of the three cataclysmic wildfires currently burning in California, according to a post on his website. However, Young’s blog post did not lament his own property damage, instead condemning the president for his lack of reaction. The 73-year-old singer was not even focused on the president’s tweets — as many were this weekend — so much as his position on climate change in general.

“California is vulnerable — not because of poor forest management as DT (our so-called president) would have us think,” he wrote. “We are vulnerable because of Climate Change; the extreme weather events and our extended drought is part of it.”

Young referred to President Trump as “the Denier,” noting that California temperatures have reached historic highs while the president still publicly expresses doubts about climate change.

“It really is time for a reckoning with this unfit leader,” he wrote. “Maybe our new Congress can help. I sure hope so.”

Young barely mentioned his own losses in the fire, focusing instead on his state and his community. He wrote that Malibu residents were stranded on beaches with their pets as their homes burned, and firefighters were up against blazes the likes of which none had ever seen.

“California is a paradise for us all. A gift,” he wrote. “We are sad to not be able to defend it against Mother Nature’s wrath… We are not ill-prepared. We are up against something bigger than we have ever seen. It’s too big for some to see at all.”

On a small personal note, Young did reveal that he has “lost my home before to a California fire, now another.” However, the real message of his post was environmental and political outrage.

“Hopefully we can come together as people and take Climate Change on,” he wrote. “We have the tools and could do it if we tried. There is no downside.”

As for the president, Young had nothing nice to say.

“Imagine a leader who defies science, saying these solutions shouldn’t be a part of his decision-making on our behalf,” he wrote. “Imagine a leader who cares more for his own, convenient opinion than he does for the people he leads. Imagine an unfit leader. Now imagine a fit one. Look around.”

Young’s post was made on his blog, The NYA Times-Contrarian. It is hosted on his website, Neil Young Archives, and features daily posts on everything — including many anecdotes and revisitations on his music over the years.