Calfire exhausts its budget, requests more funds

With the Delta Fire in full force, Calfire is finding itself rapidly running out of money only two months into the fiscal year.

Last week, Calfire’s director Ken Pimlott told legislators that $431 million of their total budget of $443 million had already been spent. He requested an additional $234 million to continue fighting fires in the state.

California’s Insurance Commissioner David Jones warned that the worst of the fire season may be yet to come, noting that wildfires are typically more destructive after Sept. 1. Last year, the fires that devastated the wine country didn’t start until October.

“In fact, if you look at Calfire’s list of the top 20 most destructive fires in California’s history, 17 of those have occurred after Sept. 1,” he said at a news conference in San Francisco last week.

Victims of the Carr Fire and the Mendocino Complex – the two most destructive fires in the state this year – have filed more than 10,000 claims totaling $845 million.

These two fires consumed more than 459,000 acres and damaged 8,800 homes and 329 businesses. Losses are estimated at $56 million, according to the Associated Press.

The state legislature budgets for firefighting costs based on historical averages. According to the Department of Finance,calfire has requested additional money in seven of the past 10 years but never this early in the fire season.

– Appeal-democrat news services