CA Gov. Brown: All Hell Is Breaking Loose

CALIFORNIA -- California Gov. Jerry Brown said on national television Sunday that "all hell is breaking loose" as the state deals with its most destructive fire season on record. In a wide-ranging interview that aired on television, Brown discussed climate change, taxes and retirement with CBS correspondent Bill Whitaker.

The interview, which aired after Brown toured fire-ravaged Southern California, discussed his passion for combating climate change and the measures he's taken to reduce the human impact on Mother Nature. The "60 Minutes" episode comes as fire officials continue to battle the Thomas Fire, which is in its fifth day and continues to prompt mandatory evacuations in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

"The fire season used to be a few months in the summer," Brown said on the news show. "Now it's almost year-long. These fires are unprecedented. Scientists are telling us, 'This is the kind of stuff we have to deal with it.'"

In response to President Donald Trump pulling U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord earlier this year, Brown said "anyone who isn't looking at the facts" of climate change should be fearful.

"I don't think President Trump has a fear of the Lord, the fear of the wrath of the God, which leads one to more humility," Brown said. "This is such a reckless disregard of the truth and for the existential consequences that can be unleashed.

"Nature is not a political game. Nature is the ground on which we stand. It's the air in which we breathe. The truth of the case there is too much carbon beam, that heat trapping gases are building up, the planet is warming. All hell is breaking loose."

Touting on how California is leading the country when it comes to fighting climate change, Brown spoke about the Cap-And-Trade program and the zero emission mandate on cars and appliances.

"California is showing that dealing with climate is good for the economy, not bad," Brown said. "California is the engine of America."

Watch the episode of "60 Minutes" here.

--Photo: California Gov. Jerry Brown discusses the Thomas Fire and the extended length of the state's fire season during a press conference on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017, in Ventura, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)