An air tanker drops retardant on the Olinda Fire burning in Anderson, Calif., October, 2020. Photo: Stratos Brilakis, via Shutterstock
OPINION: As lawmakers across the country return to their Capitol posts, some are kicking off the new year with legislation calling for increased wildfire resources, funding, upgrades, and additional aircraft and crew.
A California forest fire seen at night. (Photo: vladseagull, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Until 2019, if a California utility violated fire safety rules and thereby caused a catastrophic wildfire, the utility could not make its customers pay for its uninsured wildfire costs.In 2017, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) was found by two administrative law judges to have violated numerous fire safety rules when its operations caused San Diego’s catastrophic wildfires in 2007.
The hulks of destroyed automobiles burned in the 2018 Thomas Fire in Ventura County. ((Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)On the final day of the legislative session, Gov. Newsom signed a complex, $21 billion bill that will dramatically change how California pays for future wildfire damages, with the customers and shareholders of California’s largest utilities covering the tab. The unprecedented measure seeks to stabilize the utility market and limit rate hikes, while establishing a blanket of financial security and compensation to victims of the devastating 2017-2018 fires.
A resident leads horses to safety in Paradise during the 2018 Camp Fire. (Photo: Dylan Mittag, via Shutterstock)Everyone with any knowledge of the subject agrees: California is on the brink of a potentially disastrous fire season. And there is concern that the problem is not going to be solved soon. “Our best efforts may still be inadequate,” said Michael Picker, president of the California Public Utilities Commission.
Donald Trump speaks to California supporters during a 2015 campaign rally aboard the USS Iowa in San Pedro. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)President Donald Trump threatened—again—to withhold federal dollars from California as the state copes with the aftermath of wildfires. But the president’s action is on shaky legal ground. That’s because there are clear guidelines governing how federal funding is administered and under what circumstances it can be cut off.
Smoke from the Camp Fire, as seen on Nov. 8 from Black Butte Lake. (Photo: Caminor, via Shutterstock)Sunrise, Nov. 8: Firefighters were dispatched to a small brush fire near Camp Creek Road in Butte County. Within 10 minutes, whipped by high winds, dry conditions and much fuel, the brush fire had exploded. By the end of the day, the fire had a name, the Camp Fire, and the town of Paradise was under an evacuation order.