Tag: California

An investigation found that California Governor Gavin Newsom grossly exaggerated the amount of fuel reduction projects that have been completed on state lands, and he reduced the fire prevention budget.

From Capradio, June 23, 2021:

“An investigation from CapRadio and NPR’s California Newsroom found the governor has misrepresented his accomplishments and even disinvested in wildfire prevention. The investigation found Newsom overstated, by an astounding 690%, the number of acres treated with fuel breaks and prescribed burns in the very forestry projects he said needed to be prioritized to protect the state’s most vulnerable communities. Newsom has claimed that 35 “priority projects” carried out as a result of his executive order resulted in fire prevention work on 90,000 acres. But the state’s own data show the actual number is 11,399.

“Overall, California’s response has faltered under Newsom. After an initial jump during his first year in office, data obtained by CapRadio and NPR’s California Newsroom show Cal Fire’s fuel reduction output dropped by half in 2020, to levels below Gov. Jerry Brown’s final year in office. At the same time, Newsom slashed roughly $150 million from Cal Fire’s wildfire prevention budget.”

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Update at 6:44 a.m. PDT June 24, 2021

Here are two other points of view:

The pandemic disrupted state operations at all levels and that includes the fuels reduction work of @CALFIRE_CHIEF + @CAL_FIRE – but they and the administration deserve credit for getting that work back on track and allocating the necessary $$$ to continue it in years to come.

— CA Forestry Association (@CalForests) June 24, 2021

While I always appreciate intrepid reporting, and have strictly scrutinized and sought to reform CA wildifre prevention strategy over the last few years, @CapRadioNews story today criticizing @CAL_FIRE & @GavinNewsom missed the mark. Here’s why ?

— Senator Henry Stern (@SenHenryStern) June 24, 2021