Wildfires must be No. 1 priority for Gov. Newsom
Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown told the truth no one wants to hear. While inspecting the Camp Fire devastation in Butte County, a reporter asked Brown, “How do we curb these fires?”
“It’s not one thing,” he said. “It’s how people live, it’s where they live, and it’s the changing climate . ... Things are not going to get better. They’re going to get more challenging because of the continuing alteration in the climate — lack of moisture, early snowmelt and faster winds, the whole thing.”
All this will be a skunk at Gavin Newsom’s inauguration party when he’s sworn in as Brown’s replacement in January.
I contacted the governorelect’s transition office and asked whether he had any fresh thoughts about preventing and fighting wildfires. Apparently not. I was referred to a written statement he gave the Times during the election campaign. In it, he talked about spending more money. And, really, there’s no way of avoiding that.
“This has to be a top priority,” he said. “That starts with more resources to address this crisis . ... I will build on the work currently underway … re-examining lands and vegetation management strategies … including the removal of dead trees.”
Newsom should make wildfires his No. 1 priority — higher than homelessness, universal health care, anything.
The state isn’t short of money. The Legislative Analyst’s Office last week projected a nearly $15 billion budget surplus. A chunk of that could be spent on a crash program of buying firefighting equipment, cleaning forests and funding emergency alert systems.
But Brown already is purchasing 12 state-of-the-art helicopters. And the state owns 23 air tankers that couldn’t fly when the Camp Fire erupted because of high winds.
Fire statistics make Brown’s point about wildfires becoming an increasing menace.
The Camp Fire is the deadliest and most destructive ever recorded in California. As of Sunday, it had killed at least 85 people, destroyed nearly 13,000 homes and 5,000 other structures, and charred over 150,000 acres. Of the 20 deadliest wildfires ever recorded in California, 10 have occurred since 2000. Of the 20 most destructive, 14 have been in this century. So have 16 of the 20 largest.
Laws enacted in September will significantly expand wildfire prevention efforts while allowing utilities to shift some of their liability costs to customers.
But the utility cost shifts don’t affect this year’s fires. And there’s speculation that Pacific Gas & Electric could ultimately go bankrupt if its equipment is found to have ignited the Camp fire.
State Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, is considering legislation to break up the company and allow local governments to buy its pieces.
The state has substantially stepped up its controlled burning of vulnerable woodlands. And this year’s legislation provides $200 million a year for forest thinning.
But, “You can have the cleanest forests in the whole world, with thousands of leaf blowers out there, but once a fire starts with 80 mph winds, you can’t stop it,” says Brian Rice, president of the California Professional Firefighters Association.
You can’t cut down all the trees and brush. There would go the watersheds and here would come the mudslides.
And, sure, maybe people shouldn’t live in potential firetraps. But just try to stop them.
Hopefully lawmakers will show up in January with creative ideas. But by then it could be flood season.