“As the wildfire season opens in California, we’re seeing signs that it will be even more severe than last year. Almost 30,000 acres in California have already burned and Cal Fire is currently working to contain four large fires.
“Increased brush from heavy rains and a sudden heat wave is causing brush fires to ignite quickly. Making matters worse, six years of drought has left us with more than 100 million dead trees. This overabundance of fuel, combined with fires that are burning hotter and faster, has created a potentially catastrophic scenario in California that poses an increased risk not only to property but also the brave men and women fighting these fires.
“I’ve long advocated for reforming wildfire prevention funding to make our forests and communities more fire-resilient. Previous cuts to programs that help create healthy forests and reduce wildfire risk have forced us to spend even more taxpayer dollars fighting massive wildfires today.
“That’s why President Trump’s proposal to slash an additional $1 billion from the Forest Service budget makes no sense.
“While we push the federal government to enact long-overdue fire reforms, there are steps we can take right now to prevent forest fires. More than 90 percent of wildfires are started by humans. I encourage all Californians to practice care, caution and good wildfire fire safety heading into the holiday weekend.”
Source: Senator Dianne Feinstein
