A wildfire burns near a home in Salinas, Monterey County, last year. (Photo: David A Litman)With 2020’s disasters in mind, the state is making elaborate plans to deal with an upcoming wildfire season made potentially more deadly by drought. The challenge is there, and it’s a big one.
A man watches the 2018 Woolsey fire in Los Angeles. (Photo: BrittanyNY, via Shutterstock)Strapped California, facing an unprecedented budget crisis as it battles COVID-19, is setting aside hundreds of millions of dollars to confront wildfires. Already, more than 1,300 fires — mostly small — have been reported as the hottest, driest months of the year approach.
A storage batter array at a power plant. (Photo: Chompunoi, via Shutterstock)OPINION: There is a growing concern that increasing the state’s reliance on fossil-fuel backup power options already in use by many Californians will keep power on at the expense of increased emissions of toxic air contaminants and greenhouse gases. These same systems may also create additional fire risks.
A view of Los Angeles blurred by a hazy atmosphere. (Photo: evijaf, via Shutterstock) OPINION: For 11 years, Next 10 has been measuring economic and environmental indicators in the California Green Innovation Index. This year, the data is sobering. If the current pace of emissions decline continues, we will miss our 2030 climate targets by more than thirty years.
A utility worker handles repairs on a power pole. (Photo: Richard Thornton, via Shutterstock)PG&E’s reputation has been so battered over its wildfire liabilities and other problems that some think it should change its name. A group of bondholders trying to take over the utility company has proposed that they re-brand it to Golden State Power Light & Gas Co. They made the proposal during proceedings in PG&E’s bankruptcy court case earlier this year.
A California school bus powered by propane. (Photo: SchoolBusFleet.com)In the last decade, numerous California school districts have adopted propane-based school buses in an attempt to eliminate costs and toxic emissions. Since 2013, the Elk Grove Unified School District near Sacramento has added 16 propane buses to its fleet and expects up to 12 more in the next month.
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.
Fire safety has suddenly become far more politically fraught and expensive. Here, firefighters respond to 2017 Ponderosa Fire. Photo courtesy of Cal Fire. (Photo: CalFire, via CALmatters)Don’t be fooled by the precipitation, the snowpack, the wildflowers. When winter ends, it’s unlikely that California’s iconic landscape will sustain the moisture to withstand the 100-degree summer and fall. California has yet to recover from the 5-year drought that began in 2012. For four years, record wildfires have ravaged the state, including the Tubbs Fire in Napa and Sonoma in 2017 and the Camp Fire last year that wiped out the town of Paradise in Butte County.
A couple watches as a wildfire creeps closer. (Photo: Logan Bush, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Around 25 years ago, Patricia immigrated to the U.S., settling in Santa Barbara with dreams of a better life. She cleans homes for a living in communities like Montecito and San Ysidro. During the Thomas Fire, she couldn’t go to work because many of the homes she cleaned were at risk. As mudslides came after the blaze, Patricia couldn’t go back to work for almost three months.