March 10, 2021 - SACRAMENTO – A pair of bills advanced on Tuesday from Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, that would improve wildfire safety and community resiliency as the state faces the coming, drought-fueled wildfire season.

“Wildfire prevention and response are top priorities in California,” said Sen. Dodd. “My legislation directs more resources to local government while tapping innovation to address this urgent threat. I thank my Senate colleagues for throwing their unanimous support behind these much-needed measures.”

The legislation moved forward as the state experiences the largest wildfires in its history. Seventeen of the 20 largest wildfires have occurred since 2000, with six of the seven largest wildfires occurring in 2020 alone. Collectively, the fires have claimed hundreds of lives and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage. Wildfire response costs have strained state and local finances.

Senate Bill 52 follows a series of power shutoffs from PG&E over the past two years that were intended to prevent fallen power lines and damaged equipment from sparking fires. It makes clear that such de-energizations are eligible for official emergency declarations, freeing financial assistance for local government under the Emergency Services Act.

Senate Bill 109 calls for creation of the Office of Wildfire Technology Research and Development under the auspices of the California Office of Emergency Services. It would identify more effective ways to address wildfires, studying, testing and advising state and local agencies on new tools and techniques to prevent and suppress them. It would also serve as a central hub for promising, new ideas.

Both bills were approved with bipartisan support in the Senate Governmental Organization committee, which is chaired by Sen. Dodd.

Sen. Dodd has been a leading advocate for wildfire safety during his time in the Legislature, writing more than a dozen new laws to improve prevention and response. He has been a champion of innovation, authoring the 2019 bill that established the state’s Wildfire Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center to enhance California’s ability to predict and prepare for wildfires.
Source: Senator Bill Dodd