Newsom takes responsibility for failed wildfire policy – Orange County Register

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This summer, scorching heat and perilous drought conditions sparked a wildfire season that is one of the worst California has ever seen, but Gov. Gavin Newsom is pointing the finger and scoring cheap political points instead. than to reorganize the way the state deals with these recurring problems.

As a perspective, CBS News reported that the number of wildfires in California so far this year is higher than the number recorded during the same period in 2020, a year that has seen more area burned than any other. year recorded in history.

At the end of last month, Newsom visited the site of the lava fire in the far north, where he blamed the Trump administration. It goes without saying, he said, that in California we were in a relationship with the federal government that was more like sparring partners. He mocked the former president for debating forest sweeping policies.

Trump didn’t fully understand all the details, but he pointed to an issue that shouldn’t be particularly controversial – the need to step up deforestation efforts to reduce the fuel load. In August, the state and federal government agreed to double the rate of forest thinning and prescribed burns to 1 million acres per year, the Mercury News reported.

At the time, Newsom praised the former administration for its swift response and very effective partnership with the state. There is no point in debating the policies of a past administration, but it is time for the current state administration to pass effective reforms that help California overcome current and future wildfire challenges.

Unfortunately, the governor has lost his credibility on the matter. CapRadio and NPR reported that Newsom has distorted its wildfire preparedness and even divested in prevention. He claimed his administration thinned 90,000 acres but actually only had 12,000 acres. (L) He says fire prevention work overall halved last year, according to the report.

During a video conference with Western governors, President Joe Biden complained that the starting salary for a US Forest Service firefighter is less than $ 14 an hour. However, the total compensation for firefighters in the State of California is over $ 150,000 per year. County and city firefighters earn compensation over $ 200,000. Lets deal in reality. Inadequate compensation for firefighters does not hamper our response to forest fires.

Newsom blamed the worsening fire situation on climate change, but doubling down on state climate change policies designed to help reverse global warming conditions is the wrong approach. A changing climate certainly worsens the wildfire situation, but the key is to adopt policies that help overcome the changes.

For example, the state can use its greenhouse gas funds more efficiently by building resilience to forest fires rather than funding questionable projects such as high-speed rail and affordable housing projects. . California should allocate more of these dollars, which come from state cap-and-trade auctions, to projects that directly improve our ability to mitigate fire risks.

The administration is also expected to review state insurance policies, making it difficult for insurers to price policies that reflect risk. Better market pricing will discourage homeowners from building in fire prone areas. Newsom also needs to review state regulations, making it difficult for private owners to obtain permits for prescribed burns.

Appropriate wildfire policies aren’t particularly sexy, but Newsom should focus on the basics and leave the finger and partisanship to the rest.

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