Let’s not fiddle as California burns

Years ago, I was a volunteer firefighter in my hometown of Ceres and saw the devastation fires cause to property and in people’s lives. Nothing, however, can prepare you for the heart-wrenching scenes of widespread destruction and loss of lives from the wildfires still burning throughout the state.

In July, I was pleasantly surprised when California Senate leaders asked me to join the newly created Wildfire Preparedness and Response Legislative Conference Committee. After participating in a series of highly visible committee meetings on the importance of dealing with these deadly and destructive wildfires, I must say we have a long way to go.

The initial premise for creating the committee was to discuss, and hopefully resolve, the ominous question of whom to hold accountable for these fires. More specifically, if the source of the fire is determined to be an electric utility, regardless of fault, does the state continue to force them to pay for all damages caused? If yes, then given that the enormous wildfires in 2017 and 2018 were the largest in history, are we prepared to potentially send our electricity providers into bankruptcy? That would, in turn, put the onus on taxpayers to either prop up the utilities or force the state to get into the power business.

Hopefully, this committee, the industry and stakeholders can find a better way.

Perhaps we already should have done more to reduce fire danger in California’s forests. Because of over-reaching regulations to “preserve” wild lands, thinning and controlled burns have been stifled, unnaturally increasing the fuels that make wildland fires hotter and more devastating. During questioning, CalFire and the utilities spoke of the difficulties in obtaining the authorizations to remove trees, saying they’re hampered by lawsuits and red tape.

If we can streamline bureaucracy to build major projects and sport complexes, then maybe we should do the same for wildfire prevention and forest health.

The state cannot do it alone. Throughout California we must encourage property owners to clear weeds and vegetation to create a defensible space that reduces the spread and intensity of fires. Federal legislation, including possibly the farm bill, will also allow for greater vegetation removal from federal lands.

How we dispose of this vegetation is another significant question. What do you do with millions of dead trees and underbrush? Using controlled, prescriptive burns, logging and biomass seem to have some semblance of support, but there are always detractors and new ideas about how to do it better.

That’s what this process is all about.

This year, smoke created by forest fires has been especially bad, forcing those with sensitive medical conditions to remain indoors and limiting activity of even healthy individuals. Some communities are choking through smog-like conditions worse than the most polluted cities in the world. As an asthma sufferer, I have had to wear a mask to reduce the negative effects of bad air.

Scientists estimate smoke from days and weeks of wildfires have produced more harmful emissions than all the cars in California emit in an entire year.

Ultimately, the legislature’s decisions need to address the prevention or reduction of our wildfire season through a multi-prong effort that includes removing dead and dying trees, maintaining infrastructure and educating the public on how they can help.

It’s not just structures that are at risk. Brave firefighters, residents, animals and precious memories can be taken in an instant by fire. We must make changes in how fires get started, how they’re fought and how they spread, and it starts upfront with prevention.