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Governor, legislative leaders present plan to invest half a billion dollars in wildfire prevention
On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) announced the $536 million funding plan to help improve California’s resilience to wildfires.
“With California facing another extremely dry year, it is critical that we get a head start on reducing our fire risk. We are doing that by investing more than half a billion dollars on projects and programs that provide improved fire prevention for all parts of California,” the governor and legislative leaders said in a joint statement.
The $536 million funding package, which is consistent with the Senate’s “Blueprint for a Fire Safe California” released last month, includes $125 million from Greenhouse Gas Reduction Funds and $411 million from the General Fund. State leaders said they also hope to draw federal disaster prevention grants to match money spent on home hardening.
The package includes multi-year funding on projects with both wildfire and drought resilience benefits, and Senate priorities such as Cal Fire grants for small landowners, funding for home hardening, urban greening and forestry, and funding for immediate, shovel-ready projects by conservancies from the Sierras to the Lower LA River and San Diego.
Highlights include:
· More than $280 million to create resilient wildlands and manage forest health;
· $200 million for development of wildfire fuel breaks;
· $30 million for community and home hardening;
· $25 million for forest sector economic stimulus;
· $3 million for science-based forest management.
The early action budget item will be amended into a budget bill and taken up by the Legislature in coming days. Details on this funding package can be found in SB 85 and AB 79.
“For every dollar we spend on wildfire prevention, our state saves $6 to $7 in damage. But it’s not just about saving money – this is about saving Californians’ lives, their homes, and their livelihoods,” Pro Tem Atkins said.
In the Thursday joint statement, state leaders said the key parts of the administration’s initial proposal have been supplemented by legislative ideas that they said will pay dividends over the years.
Those ideas include greater investments in forest health projects, improvements on defensible space, home hardening against fires, fire prevention grants, and prevention workforce training. The plan includes public and private lands vegetation management, community-focused efforts for prevention and resilience and economic stimulus for the forestry economy.
“Because we know that California’s fires are not limited to forested lands, we have built in attention to all kinds of vulnerable terrain and vegetation, with incentives for prevention that protects larger numbers of residents,” the group said.
They added, “We are pleased to have reached an agreement to get California quickly on the road to strong wildfire prevention, but we know more work is needed. This plan could not have been developed without the hard work of Assemblymembers Richard Bloom and Phil Ting, and Senators Bob Wieckowski, Susan Rubio and Mike McGuire, among others. We anticipate additional benefits from discussions on the 2021-2022 budget.”
“California is experiencing a never-ending crisis every summer and fall, losing tens of thousands of homes over the last decade and millions of acres of land burned over by mega fires,” said McGuire (D-Healdsburg), the Wildfire Working Group co-chair whose district includes Lake County.
“The Legislature and governor are moving with speed to pass the largest early budget action in state history investing in wildfire prevention and response. We know this half-of-a-billion-dollar investment will help make communities safer. And, there’s more work to come with a second round of funding this summer and a bold legislative package from the Senate that will focus on keeping California fire safe. We’re grateful to Pro Tem Atkins and Governor Newsom for their leadership on this critical issue, there’s much more work to come,” McGuire said.
“Wildfire prevention and response is a top priority in California, especially with drier conditions expected from this year’s drought. This plan makes sound investments in what we need to safeguard life and property. I applaud my fellow lawmakers for taking this proactive step toward avoiding the devastation we’ve seen over the past five years,” said Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa), formerly Lake County’s representative in the Assembly.