Because it is one of the single biggest food producers in the US, and has an effective monopoly on many of our foodstuffs (notably many nuts and citrus fruits).

Because it is one of the single biggest food producers in the US, and has an effective monopoly on many of our foodstuffs (notably many nuts and citrus fruits). Losing California's food production for any reason, including destruction by fire or drought, would cause massive problems in the US, possibly up to and including a depression or economic collapse. This also gets to something I've never understood: why global warming is political. The science is objectively solid and the economic costs of not doing something are clear. I'll argue about the benefit and drawbacks of policies to address it all day long, but how is outright denial a thing?