In spite of the 19,600-acre Myrtle Beach fire that so far has destroyed 69 homes and damaged 100 with a preliminary damage estimate of $8,290.000, South Carolina governor Mark Sanford is sticking by his proposal to cut $1,000,000 from the state’s budget for fighting wildfires. From WMBFnews.com:
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But one of Sanford’s top allies is backing away from plans to cut money for wildfire fighting. Sen. Tom Davis of Beaufort said Friday he’s dropping the cuts from a spending plan he’s been trying to win support for this week.
The Forestry Commission has suffered with other agencies in state budget cuts. It has lost a fifth of its budget in the past year. The agency warned in an August letter that the cuts were putting property and firefighters at risk.
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You may remember Governor Sanford for his statement that he was going to refuse to accept some of the federal stimulus money earmarked by Congress for his state. He also wanted to use $700 million of federal stimulus funds to pay down the state debt, but that idea was rejected by the Obama administration. It is widely anticipated that Sanford will run for president in 2012.
