Editorial: California must pass emergency wildfire prevention funding

It’s inconceivable that the California Legislature earlier this month failed to approve $323 million in emergency funding for wildfire prevention.

The Legislature’s focus on fighting the pandemic and reopening schools is understandable. But that’s no excuse for neglecting to act on what is also a pressing issue. Especially after the Legislature failed to pass a bill last August that would have provided $500 million for wildfire prevention.

Lawmakers shouldn’t wait another day to approve the emergency wildfire prevention funding. Every day that passes is another day in which the state could be working on projects to save lives, protect homes and keep our skies clear of smoke.

The lack of rainfall this winter and the continuing impact of climate change could make California especially vulnerable to wildfires in 2021. The average annual temperature in California continues to rise after increasing by about 3 degrees since 1895.

As a result, Californians experienced five of the six biggest wildfires in state history in 2020. All told, last year California wildfires killed 31 people, destroyed more than 10,000 homes and structures and burned more than 4 million acres. The acreage that went up in flames is roughly equivalent to burning the state of Connecticut and represents more than 10% of California’s total forest acreage.

The Legislature’s failure to pass the $500 million for wildfire prevention last August stemmed from a disagreement on how the money would be generated.

Some legislators wanted a fee on electricity bills to be extended for a decade, while others maintained the money should come from the state’s cap-and-trade funds. The two sides were unable to reach an agreement before the deadline for approving legislation passed.

In January, Gov. Gavin Newsom responded by proposing that his 2021-22 state budget would provide $1 billion to increase the pace and scale of fire prevention and forest resiliency work in California. The idea was to ramp up funding for forest management and reduce the impact of climate change. The governor’s $1 billion proposal matches the amount President Joe Biden allotted for wildfire prevention in his proposed budget. California and the U.S. Forest Service agreed in principle last August to annually treat 500,000 acres of California forest and rangelands by 2025.

But in order to accomplish that goal, Newsom’s plan included the $323 million in “early actions” to jump-start fire prevention projects before the fire season started this year.

Cal Fire has fire prevention projects ready to go. All it needs is the funding to put crews to work. These are projects that shouldn’t be delayed until June when the Legislature will determine its final budget priorities.

California spent about $2.5 billion fighting wildfires in 2020. The wildfires caused an estimated $10 billion in damage. The Legislature should give CalFire the $323 million emergency funding it needs to help the state do everything possible to reduce the damage done by wildfires this year.