Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) has signed a new $536 billion funding plan to speed up fire prevention projects across the state of California, as part of the efforts to prevent yet another devastating wildfire season that might come just before the recall election, reports The Hill.
In the budget, Newsom plans to include $1 billion new funds for promotion of forest health and community resilience. He also gave permission for hiring nearly 1,400 new firefighters for California’s top fire management agency, a commitment needed for as experts and lawmakers say state’s new reality.
“Fire season is all year round. We have to make up for lost time and certainly hoe drastic things seem to be moving in the direction that’s making it harder for California,” said state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D), whose San Diego-area district was devastated by the fires in 2003 and 2007.
The seven largest fires in California’s history all took place since 2017, so the state is making preparations for preventing the kind incendiary destruction that ravage it in recent years, from the green forests in the north to the dry deserts in the San Diego region.
Last year, a huge lightning storm and high speed winds started thousands of wildfires in the Sierra Nevada mountains, putting a smoke curtain on Sacramento so thick that some people couldn’t see their neighbors houses just across the street.
The massive firestorm overwhelmed state firefighters and burned 2.6 million acres combine in five separate fires in August and September. Almost 20 lives were lost in the fires and thousands of buildings were destroyed.
Experts are preparing for another complex fire season, due to the low snow levels after the parched winter.
“Everyone’s bracing for another severe fire season because we’re in this ongoing drought. It’s been really dry here in California,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, a fire adviser at the University of California and Director of the Northern California Prescribed Fire Council.
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