Posts Tagged: wildfire

Opinion

New wildfire safety bill hurts, rather than helps

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.

Opinion

A key move to address California’s wildfire crisis

A resident watches smoke billowing from the Woolsey Fire, November, 2018, in Southern California. (Photo: BrittanyNY, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: California is facing a wildfire crisis of epic proportions, and with the 2019 fire season already upon us, the immediate threat of yet another highly destructive and costly wildfire looms over communities all across the state. Everyone agrees that something must be done to address this crisis, and yet legislators still have not taken definitive action.

News

Forest health includes fighting fire with fire

The Lime Complex fire in Northern California's Trinity Mountains. (Photo: Paul Higley)

Analysis: California forests are threatened by a maelstrom of environmental drivers of change, which have intensified across four years of drought. Horrific recent events should inspire reform of not only wildfire management, but also of our overall forest-health stewardship and governance. We need a new vision for managing our wildlands with policies based on science and acting in the interest of the greatest public good.

News

‘Fire tax’ debate heats up

As the weather heats up,  a Capitol debate is heating up, too — on the hotly disputed ‘fire tax.’

 

The $150 annual charge on some 850,000 rural property owners is on the books, despite delays in collections, court action

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