California’s losing race against fire
President Biden’s meeting with Gavin Newsom and other Western governors Wednesday made a highprofile gesture toward treating wildfires with the seriousness they require in a changing climate. But California and the country have hardly begun to back up symbolism with substance.
There’s no need to debate the systemic threat in California, where fire “season” has long since become a misnomer and heat, drought and sprawl portend little relief from trends toward larger, more destructive wildfires. Biden said 36 major Western fires are already under way, 15 more than at this time last year. They include Northern California’s Lava Fire, which has forced thousands to evacuate their homes in Siskiyou County this week.
Newsom is under particular pressure to demonstrate his commitment and attention to the problem after an investigation by Sacramento’s CapRadio and National Public Radio’s California Newsroom found he vastly overstated the extent of highpriority areas cleared of vegetation ahead of last year’s wildfires, the largest on record. A Chronicle report also raised questions about the efficacy of those fire breaks that were completed in the areas targeted. The clearing is meant to protect threatened communities in the Bay Area and across the state but seldom does so.
The overall area treated by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection dropped by about half last year along with state spending on wildfire prevention, the public radio group also reported, following increases during 2019, Newsom’s first year in office.
The budget for the fiscal year starting Thursday ramps up fire prevention spending to over $400 million, more than in Newsom’s first budget, and the acreage treated by Cal Fire is also rebounding. The inconsistency of the state effort has consequences, though. Under an agreement with the Trump administration, the state and federal government each aim to treat 500,000 acres of wildlands a year by 2025, two years later than the goal Gov. Jerry Brown set in 2018.
Biden, for his part, pledged to raise pay and benefits for federal firefighters amid staffing shortages. U.S. Forest Service firefighters start at less than $14 an hour, which is California’s minimum wage for companies with more than 25 employees. And despite the high risk and strain involved, they can’t count on health insurance or yearround employment.
“The truth is, we’re playing catchup,” Biden said. It is the truth, and it’s a frightening one for a state and a region in a race against fire.