California Burns Through Fire Budget- L.A. Times

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California burns through $209-million wildfire budget, taps $70 million more

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http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-california-exhausts-budget-wildfires-20140930-story.html

 

Caption King fire

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Firefighters mop up hot spots in an area burned by the King fire on Sept. 19 near Pollock Pines, Calif. The King fire is threatening more than 12,000 homes in the forested area about an hour east of Sacramento.

Caption King fire

Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press

Wayne Allen Huntsman, right, appears in El Dorado County Superior Court with Public Defender William Dittman on charges related to the King fire. Huntsman pleaded not guilty to an arson charge.

Caption King fire

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

A burned-out truck sits in front of a structure that was destroyed by the King fire on Sept. 19 near Pollock Pines, Calif.

Caption King fire at 12 days old

Randall Benton / Sacramento Bee

A U.S. Forest Service crew member from Plumas County deals with hot spots in an area burned by the King fire in El Dorado County on Sept. 18.

Caption King fire

Randall Benton / Sacramento Bee

The setting sun is colored by thick smoke from the King fire in El Dorado County on Sept. 18.

By Amy Hubbard contact the reporter

WildfiresU.S. Congress

California has already burned through $209M budget for wildfires, and SoCal's fire season has just begun

.@JerryBrownGov taps $70M in reserve fund after California exhausts its $209M wildfire budget

California has burned through its wildfire-fighting budget -- $209 million -- just as it faces what is historically the worst of the fire season. And the state already has tapped into its reserves, pulling out $70 million more to combat drought-fueled blazes.

Although California routinely blows through its budget for fighting wildfires, this year the state set aside more money than usual. Now, less than three months after Gov. Jerry Brown signed the budget, his administration is tapping into reserves intended as a cushion for unexpected costs like natural disasters.
Some of the costs of fighting state wildfires will be reimbursed by the federal government. But those funds are running low. Wildfires cost the U.S. about $125 billion annually. Earlier this month, state officials requested that Congress set up an emergency reserve, like California's, to help pay for extreme fires.

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The state has long been king when it comes to spending on wildfires. By one estimate, $4 billion was spent combating wildfires in California from 2003-12, topping all other states.
And the costs for fighting wildfires hasn't abated in 2014, with blazes cropping up across the state's forests, turned tinder dry amid prolonged drought conditions.

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Wildfires raging in CaliforniaOpen link

Federal forest land has also taken a huge hit, especially in Northern California, where a series of fires has scorched roughly 275,000 acres combined. The Happy Camp Complex alone -- which at 132,733 acres is California's largest -- has cost the federal government $87.3 million to fight, or nearly half of the entire state budget for fighting wildfires.
State officials have called this wildfire season "unprecedented," with parched landscapes primed to supercharge the rapid growth of relatively small fires.

cComments

• This is what your Eco-Nazi, Anti-Logging stance has reaped you California. Lucky you. Idiots.
  Munch Hausen
  at 4:53 PM September 30, 2014

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5

The California Department of Fire and Forestry has responded to 4,974 fires from Jan. 1 to Sept. 20, which is 1,203 more than average, according to state statistics, which apply to non-U.S. Forest land.
Southern California, meanwhile, is only now entering the traditional start of its  fall wildfire season, which is notorious for strong Santa Ana winds that have fanned destructive fires in the past.
"It's already been a very active and very busy fire season," Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant told the Associated Press. "The Santa Ana and fall season just elevates that risk even more."
Chris Megerian contributed to this report.
Twitter: @chrismegerian
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